RIO RANCHO — Things started off poorly for the Peñasco Lady Panthers on Thursday and never really improved in a semifinal of the Class AA State Basketball Tournament in the Santa Ana Star Center.

The second-seeded Lady Panthers (25-5) didn't score until nearly six minutes had elapsed, falling behind 11-0 to Navajo Pine.

No. 6 seed Navajo Pine finished the upset 77-49.

"They came out of the gates well," David Sanchez, Panthers head coach, said of the Lady Warriors. "All I can say is, 'Wow.' They came ready to play. They're playing well at the right time of the year."

Alexandra Trujillo's free throws at the 2:02 mark of the first quarter ended Peñasco's drought and the Lady Panthers cut the deficit to 17-10 early in the second quarter after Abigail Soto sank both ends of a 1-and-1.

But the Lady Warriors responded with a 16-2 run to go up 33-12 that effectively ended Peñasco's hopes.

"We just had to work," Trujillo said. "Our goal is to never give up. We had our heads up, no matter how bad we were losing. That's what our coach tells us. Keep our heads up."

The Lady Warriors were able to consistently drive the ball inside for easy shots and finished the game shooting 27-for-48 (56.3 percent).

And when they didn't get the easy basket, they would draw the foul, finishing 20-for-26 from the free-throw line. Navajo Pine's opening run gave it the confidence it needed.

"It got us going," said Demetria Clichee, who scored 17 of her 19 points in the first half to lead the Lady Warriors. "And it made us want to drive it in more because we knew they were going to foul us."

The Lady Panthers were not prepared for the quickness that Navajo Pine brought to both ends of the floor.

"I was just impressed with just everything they brought," Sanchez said. "They shot the ball well. They have good guards. Very composed. They play good, aggressive defense. And they got into us. We've haven't seen that all year."

While the Lady Warriors were shooting lights-out, Peñasco was shooting itself in the foot. The Panthers went just 4-for-27 in the first half.

Still, Trujillo led Peñasco with 14 points and added eight rebounds. Soto added 13 points and Kimberly Vigil contributed 12 points.

With the talent the Panthers have coming back, Sanchez is excited about the team's future.

"Regardless of what happened, we have to look at the success that we had this year," he said. "Hopefully, we can build from it and make it better. I think these girls have nothing to be ashamed of with this basketball game. I think just getting here showed where the program has gone the last two years. We've been in the semifinals the last two years."