Storm Brewing in Moriarty: Lady Pintos’ Young Core Hungry for Success

There’s a storm brewing in the East Mountains, and as Moriarty High School girls basketball head coach Jana Baguskis enters her fourth season, she can feel it coming.

Baguskis sees something different in this year’s squad. It’s not just talent, though there’s plenty of that. It’s an intensity, a hunger that she hasn’t seen in years.

“This group is just hungry,” Baguskis said. “They’re young. We are very green… but the babies are hungry. They want to win. They want to be in the Pit.”

This hunger was on full display during a recent practice drill—one that, in past years, might have dissolved into complaints about fouls or losing. This time? Pure, unadulterated competition.

“I haven’t seen that kind of competitive fun from a group of girls in a long time,” Baguskis noted, describing a level of game-intensity focus that had been missing.

A Legacy of Coaching

For Baguskis, coaching the Lady Pintos isn’t just a job; it’s a legacy. A Moriarty alum herself, she grew up on these courts, coaching alongside her father, longtime coach Joe Bailey, for seven years.

Scenes from the girls alumni game

“My goal was I was going to go play college,” she recalled. But a heartbreaking quarterfinal loss her senior year changed her trajectory. When her father gave her an opportunity to coach middle school while she attended UNM, everything clicked. “I was like, ‘Oh, this is what I’m supposed to do.'”

Now, she’s building a program that honors that history while looking fiercely toward the future.

Youth Movement and Senior Leadership

Coming off a 10-win season that saw the Pintos capture the Bean Valley Conference (BBC) tournament title—a huge morale booster for the community—the team faces a new challenge: replacing a graduated core of senior leaders.

The roster is young, with only one or two players returning with significant varsity experience. But Baguskis isn’t worried. She points to a versatile group that pushed the pace in transition all summer, playing an unselfish brand of basketball that has her excited.

Leading the way will be seniors like Laura Stewart and Marisa Ipiotis, quiet leaders whom Baguskis is encouraging to find their voices. “I want them to use their voices more than me,” she said. “The girls are going to listen more coming from them.”

They will be guiding a talented group of underclassmen, including varsity starter Holiday Tapia, who is already talking about state titles.

“Last year… she said, ‘Let’s compare that to when we were taking our picture for the state title,'” Baguskis laughed. “I said, ‘Oh girl, you’re speaking my love language.'”

The Road Ahead

The schedule does no favors for a young team. The Lady Pintos open with a gauntlet: three games in five days, including back-to-back contests against Bernalillo and Laguna-Acoma without a practice in between. Later in January, they face a grueling stretch of eight games in 13 days.

But Baguskis is focused on the long game. She knows they might take some hits early due to their youth, but she expects them to hit their stride by January or February.

The team will also host the Alice King Tournament, the longest-running girls’ tournament in the state. For Baguskis, it’s another opportunity to compete, regardless of the scoreboard.

“I don’t care if we’re up 30, down 30,” she tells her team. “I will coach you the same… that’s all I want in return.”

Building a Culture

Success for Baguskis isn’t just measured in trophies, though she certainly wants them. It’s about building a culture where players lift each other up—something she’s already seeing this preseason.

“It’s not coaching lifting each other up, it’s them lifting each other up,” she said.

Ultimately, she wants her players to look back on their four years and say they’d do it again in a heartbeat. But make no mistake: the goal is the Pit.

“I told them the first day of tryouts… the train I’m driving is headed to the Pit,” Baguskis declared. “So, get on or find a new train, because that’s where I’m going.”

Moriarty Lady Pintos 2025-26 Season at a Glance

• Head Coach: Jana Baguskis (4th Season)
• Assistant Coaches: Mark Alvarado (JV), Esperanza Tapia (C-Team), Jim Beukelman (Assistant).
• Key Returners: Laura Stuart (Sr.), Marisa Ipiotis (Sr.), Angelita Tapia (So).
• Key Tournaments: Alice King Tournament (Host).
• Season Opener: Saturday at Bernalillo.