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Undefeated and playing one more game before the region schedule kicked in, the Juan Diego girls basketball team didn't have to worry about apathy or anything of the like on Thursday night.

All the Soaring Eagle players had to do was look to the name on the other team's jerseys.

One year ago, despite another solid regular season, Juan Diego took the court in the Class 3A playoffs and fell with an impromptu thud — thanks to the Carbon Dinos.

Carbon was back in town for a regular-season contest Thursday. This time, it was all Juan Diego early, as the home squad sprinted out to a 21-point lead in the second quarter and went on to a 62-49 victory.

"Yeah, we know who Carbon is," said Juan Diego senior Monique Mills, who finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds. "This game, we were not going to lose. We prepared all week, and our coach [Josh Archuleta] knew exactly what to do."

Mills and her twin sister, Domonique, who had 20 points, were the primary catalysts offensively for the Soaring Eagle as the pair raced to the basket for points and offensive rebounds.

But the defense for Juan Diego (13-0) also clamped down hard on the visiting Dinos from the beginning. At the end of the first quarter, Carbon (9-5) had only five points and had coughed up nine turnovers.

"You can't win state in January, but we wanted to have some pseudo-playoff games and this was one of them," Archuleta said. "It was a good chance to see where we're at. I liked what I was seeing — a lot of assists, a lot of offensive rebounds."

A bucket from JD's Becca Curran just before the end of the first quarter put the Soaring Eagle up 18-5. Juan Diego continued to build the lead, eventually making the score 36-15 when Brynn Drummond hit a shot just before intermission.

But Carbon's Jordon Scoggins swished a midcourt heave at the halftime buzzer and the visitors were able to translate that into a modicum of momentum to start the third quarter.

The Dinos, who were led by Scoggins' 18 points, also got the first two field goals of the second half to cut the lead to 13. But a pair of baskets by Monique Mills set things straight for Juan Diego, and that 13-point deficit would only be seen again by Carbon at the very end of the game.

"We came out and were tight obviously in the first quarter. We weren't moving our feet, weren't playing defense and were kind of shell-shocked," Carbon coach Ted Bianco said. "We can't do that against a team like this, especially when they have guards that good.

"But I'm really proud of my girls — how they bounced back and how they reacted," he added. "They gave them everything they had. That was the challenge that I gave them at half, that they better prove they can play with them." —

Juan Diego 62, Carbon 49

R Juan Diego senior Monique Mills scores 24 points and pulls down 16 rebounds.

• Monique's twin sister, Domonique, scores 20 points.

• Carbon's Jordon Scoggins scores 18 points.

• The Soaring Eagle avenge last year's Class 3A playoff loss to the Dinos.