Things weren’t going very well for Pueblo five years ago, or so it seemed. The Warriors only won four games and lost 18. There was talent on the court but it was young and unknown.

Ismael Galindo took over the struggling program and, perhaps, he was the only one who knew what was coming. His daughter, Idalis Star Galindo, transferred over from Tucson High and the foundation was set or what was to come.

Galindo averaged over ten points a game the next year and the team won ten games. It was the first time the program had reached ten wins in six years. Still, the team suffered some pretty humiliating losses.

Canyon del Oro beat them 49-16 and Palo Verde hammered them 74-15. Cienega won 63-30 and Sahuaro beat them down 50-16.  Pueblo was not yet one of the elites.

Araceli Loya was a freshman on that team. She averaged nine points a game that year but then came her sophomore year when she pushed her scoring average to over ten points a game but Idalis had graduated. In her place stood her younger sister, Ilyssa Diamond Galindo, along with fellow freshman Alicia Reyes.  The talent was still young but it was known.

Reyes scored over 13 points a game and Galindo pumped in 11. The trio averaged over 35 points a game and sophomore Myriam Navarro added another seven. The result was a 22-9 season and a trip to the Division II state playoffs.

The team beat Palo Verde twice, beat Canyon del Oro and lost to Sahuaro in overtime before beating the Cougars in the sectional tournament. Pueblo was becoming an elite program

The Warriors went 25-5 last year and made it to the D-III quarterfinal round. In short, the program had arrived.

Now, only a junior, Reyes broke the 1,000-point career mark and Loya reached 1,000 career points Friday night at Cholla and Galindo might match that total later this year. Things have changed.

“I feel like I finally made a difference,” Loya said on joining the 1,000-point club.

“It all started with Idalis during my freshman year. We helped turn this around and I sort of feel we are unstoppable now.”

Pueblo (10-1) will host Nogales (1-10) on Monday night.

A similar story was taking place across town.

Mike Reyna took control of the St. Augustine boys’ team four years ago. He had some future standouts on his roster with sophomore Mark Lugo joined by freshmen Max Navarette, Jacob Dybas and Chance Strawderman.

The team finished 11-10, which was only the second winning record in school history. But the team lost their last three games and only won nine games the following year. Lugo was scoring 11 point a game and Dybas was averaging ten. But there was a new face on the bench.

Andrew Reyna was pouring in over 13 points game as a freshman which is a rarity in boys’ basketball.

Then last year happened. The Wolves went 24-6 and made it to the second round of the D-V tournament and the points kept on coming.

Reyna is now junior and he has become a scoring machine. He passed the 1,000-point mark Friday night in a win over San Miguel which is definitely uncharted territory for the program but the school better get used to it because more might be coming.

Dybas has over 800 career points but he missed a lot of games this year due to a broken wrist. 1,000 career points may still be in his future and 2,000 career points for Reyna may not be out of the question.

Sophomore Jose Maldonado is scoring over 13 points game so the long-term future is looking pretty good for the Wolves.

“All the work I put in when I was younger through high school paid off,” Reyna said on passing 1,000 career points.

 “I owe a lot to my teammates for putting me in this position,” he added. “And I would not be here if it wasn’t for Mark Lugo. I would not be where I am today.”

St. Augustine (13-1) will host Immaculate Heart (6-5) next Wednesday.