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The poster board sign in Cibola's locker room read: "`I was not impressed' - Gallup coach John Lomasney."

It was a pre-game motivational reminder to the Cibola girls basketball team that respect still needed to be earned.

The quote was pulled from a newspaper article after Cibola had beaten Gallup last month to clinch the school's first district title. The win also gave the Cougars an automatic berth in the state tournament.

"Bulletin board material," Cibola's second-year coach Lori Stephenson called it.

The motivational tool didn't seem to be working in Cibola's favor initially in its opening-round state tournament playoff game against Valley.

The Vikings charged out to a 9-0 advantage to start the game before the host Cougars realized motivational tools don't score baskets.

"We did that on purpose," joked Cibola's Tyonna Spikes of the Cougars' slow start.

Eventually, Cibola's size advantage and superior athleticism took over and the Cougars used a late fourth-quarter burst to take a 52-40 victory over the pesky Vikings on Friday night.

The Cougars (20-6) advanced to face La Cueva (23-5) in Tuesday's quarterfinals at 4:45 p.m. in The Pit. The Bears defeated visiting Las Cruces O¤ate 64-45 on Friday night.

Valley took a 32-31 lead into the fourth quarter but couldn't hold off the attacking Cougars down the stretch. Brittany Gabriel led the Vikings with 10 points.

Valley's season ended at 11-16. Cibola's next stop?

"We're going to The Pit. We're going to The Pit," the Cibola players chanted in their post-game locker room celebration.

"We're excited. We wanted to do this for our seniors," said Spikes, a 5-foot-9 junior guard.

Added junior guard Shayla Flores: "We're all doing it for each other. It's a great thing for us to go down to The Pit and run down that ramp. None of us have ever played there before."

That group includes Cibola's two seniors - 6-2 reserve center Kara Bible and 5-7 starting guard Donni Smith.

But this was Spikes' night to savor. She finished with a game-high 18 points, including 7-of-11 shooting from the free-throw line.

"She had a heck of a game for us," Stephenson said. "We needed that from her because some of our other players were struggling a little bit."

Cibola 5-6 sophomore guard Taylor Williams provided some perimeter punch. She hit a trio of 3-pointers among her 14 points. Junior 5-11 guard Skye Barnett, the team's leading scorer during the regular season, added 13 points despite an off night offensively through the first three quarters.

No matter. Cibola's cry all season has been team play over individual accomplishments.

"It's going to take a village," Stephenson announced to her players after the win. "We need each one of you to be ready when your name is called."

Stephenson, who has made trips to The Pit as an assistant coach at Rio Rancho, will be taking her first one as a head coach.

"I just told the players, `Soak it all in. Run down that ramp. Cry if you need to. Laugh if you need to. Experience it all and then get ready to play ball,'" Stephenson said.

Cibola's next foe is a familiar one. The Cougars defeated the Bears 64-44 on Jan. 20 in their lone meeting this season, a victory that started the team on an eight-game winning streak. La Cueva rebounded to win eight in a row after the loss to Cibola.

"It should be a good battle," Flores said. "They're all good teams from here on out."

Impressive or not, Cibola is one of eight teams left with a chance to take the girls Class 5A crown.

"It's going to take an extraordinary effort to put us out of the tournament," Stephenson said, "because we're playing to win it."