The state basketball tournaments at The Pit are always emotional, often happy, times for not only coaches taking their teams down the ramp to contend for a state championship but also for the coaches who have “been there, done that.”
Jaedyn De La Cerda was in no hurry to leave the Pit on Friday night.
The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team’s senior guard stuck around long after her teammates and coaches departed. The net-cutting ceremonies, picture-taking and trophy hugging that followed the Lobos’ Mountain West-title-clinching 71-62 win over Colorado State were not quite enough.
De La Cerda plopped down in the middle of a pile of confetti at midcourt and spent a few moments gazing around, a broad smile on her face.
“I’ve always loved the Pit,” she said later. “I just wanted to take it all in.”