By RUSSELL HUFFMAN

SANDIA PARK — The Ron Drake era at East Mountain High School began Tuesday night with a difficult 51-33 loss to the McCurdy Lady Bobcats, but the scoreboard didn’t tell the whole story for the new-look Lady Timberwolves.

A Need to Protect the Ball

Drake, the all-time girls wins leader in New Mexico high school basketball history, took the helm of the East Mountain program this year. While the opener resulted in a loss, Drake saw specific, fixable issues rather than a lack of capability — primarily, ball security.

“Turnovers, 36 of them,” Drake said candidly after the game. “If it wasn’t for the turnovers, we’d be right in that game.”

Despite the turnover trouble, East Mountain (0-1) found offensive rhythm from three key players. Kate Hushman led the scoring charge with 14 points, while Evelyn Kannolt and Emee Naylor provided a balanced attack with 11 points each. Addison Springall added a free throw to round out the scoring.

First Five Chemistry

The Lady Timberwolves were hampered by a short bench, playing without two starters—a post player and a shooting guard—forcing Drake to rely on younger players and substitutes who are still adjusting to the varsity pace.

“The chemistry is good with the first five,” Drake explained. “So, I had to play some subs and some JV [players], and they weren’t ready.”

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While the offense is still a work in progress, the team hasn’t fully installed their offensive schemes due to the Thanksgiving break, but the veteran coach found positives on the defensive end. He noted that McCurdy had scored 65 points in their previous outing, but East Mountain held them to 51.

However, missed opportunities under the rim proved costly.

“We miss a lot of layups, uncontested,” Drake said. “If we made them—I think we counted 10 uncontested layups—we’re five points down. But I thought our defense was good.”

Taking over a program that hasn’t seen a winning season in recent years is a challenge, but it is one Drake is embracing. After 36 years of coaching without a single losing season, he is looking to instill a winning mindset in Sandia Park.

From The Ground Up

“You build a team and then you win,” Drake said. “We’re building right now. You got to get that winning mentality in the house.”

When asked why he returned to the sideline after retiring from the girls’ program at ATC and a stint as a boys’ assistant at Santa Fe Prep, Drake’s answer was simple.

“Because I love it. I got the passion. It’s my legacy,” he said. “I do it because I love it. I love basketball. I owe it.”

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The Lady Timberwolves will look to bounce back and clean up the turnovers as they head to the Santa Rosa tournament this coming weekend, where they will focus on defense and rebounding.

“I’ve never had a losing season. Don’t plan on starting [now],” Drake said. “It’s a work in progress.”

The Ron Drake File: A Legacy on the Hardwood

In the landscape of New Mexico high school basketball, few resumes are as imposing as that of Ron Drake. While new to the East Mountain sidelines, Drake is anything but a rookie. Entering his 37th year of coaching, he carries a distinction that seems almost statistically impossible: in over three and a half decades of leading programs, he has never suffered a losing season.

Drake, recognized as the all-time girls wins leader in New Mexico high school history, arrived in Sandia Park following a retirement that didn’t stick. After concluding a successful tenure with the girls’ program at the Academy for Technology and the Classics (ATC), Drake briefly stepped away from the head coaching chair. However, the drive to compete kept him close to the game; he served as an assistant coach for the boys’ team at Santa Fe Prep before the East Mountain job lured him back to the helm.

Defense, Defense, Defense

His coaching philosophy is rooted in a “defense-first” mentality, a necessity for building programs from the ground up. It is a formula that has worked across multiple stops in his career, earning him a reputation as a program builder.

For Drake, the return to the sideline isn’t about chasing more records—it’s about the game itself. A former college player whose scholarship paved his way through school, he views coaching as a way to repay a debt to the sport.

“I do it because I love it. I got the passion. It’s my legacy,” Drake said following Tuesday’s opener. “My wife comes first, and then this… I didn’t want to stay home.”

Now tasked with revitalizing an East Mountain program hungry for success, Drake is applying the same patience that built his legacy. “You build a team, and then you win,” he noted. Given his history, the winning part is likely just a matter of time.

By The Numbers

Ron Drake’s career coaching record stands at 714 wins and 261 losses.

This record cements his status as the all-time wins leader in New Mexico high school girls’ basketball history.

Career Breakdown & Context:

• Total Wins: 714
• Total Losses: 261
• Win Percentage: ~73%
• Previous Stops: Drake built this historic résumé across several prominent programs before arriving at East Mountain, including:
  • Santa Fe HS
  • St. Michael’s
  • Española Valley
  • Pojoaque Valley
  • Pecos
  • Academy for Technology and the Classics (ATC)