FARMINGTON — A long layoff did some good for the Kirtland Central girls basketball team.

After eight days off, KC came out with fresh legs and used them to build a 15-point first-quarter lead over Los Lunas, which was the difference, as the Lady Broncos earned the 49-43 win at Bronco Arena on Friday night.

Sophomore Haile Gleason was especially hot in that first quarter and KC's leading scorer piled up a team-high 18 points to spearhead the victory.

"Haile's been our leading scorer all year. She's already gotten to be kind of a go-to person when things slow down for us," KC coach John Zecca said. "She made her free throws tonight, too, which is always big."

KC (3-3) was a bit banged up and without three of its best rebounders on Friday, so it sacrificed some size on the glass.

Though Los Lunas dominated the boards and inched closer late in the game, KC made enough plays to close out the game and reach the .500 mark.

Zecca said his team showed some resolve to hold on.

"If we would have lost, it would have been because (Los Lunas) was bigger than us, but we got some big buckets at the end, which we needed," Zecca said. "We took care of the ball as well."

The Lady Broncos will host Miyamura on Tuesday.

Aztec 45, Bernalillo 36

The Lady Tigers used a 14-2 fourth-quarter run to pull away from Bernalillo late on Friday and improve to 6-2 on the season.

It took Aztec a little while to get going, as the visitors went into halftime mired in a 15-15 tie, but the big fourth-quarter run led directly to the 45-36 road win over Bernalillo (0-10).

Aztec coach Robert McCaskill said defense led to the big run.

"We made that 14-2 run in about 30 seconds. So that was pretty impressive," McCaskill said. "Our defense woke up. We forced a lot of turnovers."

Aztec visits unbeaten Montezuma-Cortez, Colo., for a 1 p.m. game today.

Bloomfield 47, Bayfield, Colo., 24

An emotional buzzer-beating victory over Piedra Vista didn't have too much of an adverse effect on the Lady Bobcats on Friday.

Bloomfield's defense led the way as the Lady Bobcats clipped Bayfield, Colo., 47-24 on the road.

"The girls responded well against a scrappy club," Bloomfield coach Tom Adair said. "We got some turnovers off our press. The second half, we played really well."

Bayfield hung around with Bloomfield — within eight points or so — until Brandi Alcantar dropped 8 fourth-quarter points on the Lady Wolverines to help Bloomfield distance itself.

Destiny Walther, who played the hero against PV, got off to a slow start before coming on strong with 8 second-half points for a team-high 13 points.

Now 6-1, the Lady Bobcats will get to relax over the holiday break before hosting Aztec on Jan. 4.

Montezuma-Cortez, Colo., 45, Navajo Prep 35

Navajo Prep shot itself on the foot on Friday with an ice-cold start.

The Lady Eagles traveled to Colorado and lost on the second half of a back-to-back set, falling 45-35 to Montezuma-Cortez, Colo. on the road.

Taylor Woody had 12 points in the losing effort for Prep, which plays in the Texico Tournament on Dec. 29.

Jake Newby covers sports for The Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4577.