An old dog learned a new trick as the Alice King Invitational came to a close Saturday in Moriarty.

“This is the first time in 35 years of coaching that I found a coach who gets it,” said Cindy Roybal, Santa Fe Indian School head coach.

By that she meant a postgame exchange she had with Moriarty head coach Joe Bailey, one in which Bailey lauded the SFIS coach for not running the score up despite obvious difference in the teams’ talent levels.

SFIS improved to 7-1 with a 54-29 win in the consolation game. The Lady Braves took third place in the three-day tournament.

“He’s probably the only coach who ever said that to me,” Roybal said. “I started subbing early in the game and kept running players in and out until the end. He told me it showed a lot of class.”

Only one Lady Brave reached double figures as Bridget Lee capped an eight-point first half with a second-half bucket to give her a team-high 10. Danielle Nelson added nine.

Of the 15 players who suited up for SFIS, 13 scored. All of them saw significant minutes and Roybal said the third round of subs probably got more playing time than the starters.

The Lady Braves led 12-6 after one quarter but carried a 25-point lead into halftime. The win gave them the third-place trophy following Friday’s narrow loss to Las Cruces in the semifinals.

SFIS will take part in next week’s Ben Luján Tournament in Pojoaque. The opener is Thursday morning against Raton.