Lady Timberwolves tie School Record for Consecutive Wins

The 2025-26 East Mountain Lady Timberwolves basketball team is one of the most intriguing stories in New Mexico high school girls basketball, and history is being made. Thursday night, East Mountain beat Estancia 41-39 to move to 9-5 for the year and tied the school’s longest winning streak at six games.

It’s been 20 years since the Timberwolves won six straight games to open the 2006-07 season. Despite that strong start, East Mountain has never had a winning basketball season, with the Timberwolves’ best mark being 12-12 (also in 2006-07) and an 11-12 season in 2008-09.

So, how do you counter the fact that you’ve never had a winning season? You hire a coach who has coached for nearly four decades and has never had a losing season.

Coach Ron Drake has drastically changed how opponents view the Timberwolves, and East Mountain’s “defense first philosophy” puts offenses in frustration mode from the opening tip-off.

Now 14 games into the season, fans are still scratching their heads trying to figure out the Timberwolves’ offensive scheme, which is secondary in East Mountain’s focus.

“We play defense, and that’s our main focus,” Drake said. “We don’t have an offense yet. I haven’t put one in.”

The real difference maker for East Mountain is better protection of the basketball and fewer turnovers. At the start of the season, the Timberwolves’ struggles stemmed from games with as many as 30 turnovers.

“You don’t win games when you don’t take care of the ball, and you give your opponents so many opportunities to score,” Drake said.

For those who keep count, there are 12 games remaining on the Timberwolves’ schedule, which means East Mountain is four wins away from its best-ever win total and five victories away from guaranteeing its first winning season.

Better yet, East Mountain isn’t just looking for some respect. The Timberwolves have a legitimate shot at the postseason, holding the second-best record among District 5 3A teams. Sandia Prep is 9-4 for the year, Cottonwood Classical Prep is 9-6, and East Mountain is 9-5. Therefore, it appears the trio will battle it out for a league title.