Portales girls lose in Roswell

ROSWELL — Playing their fifth game on the road in six nights, including their second in two nights in Roswell, the Portales Lady Rams fell short Tuesday night when Roswell High held on late for a 54-48 victory.

Portales (3-5), which beat Roswell Goddard 58-32 on Monday night, erased a nine-point deficit at the quarter to pull even 31-31 early in the third, but the Lady Rams were unable to take the lead in the contest.

PHS girls coach Brenda Gomez said her team switched from a zone to a man-to-man late in the first half after the Lady Coyotes knocked down six 3-pointers, but in the end the Lady Rams couldn’t keep Roswell off the free throw line.

The Lady Coyotes finished the game 19-of-23 from the line, while Portales was able to down only 9-of-20 charity tosses.

“We shut them down on the 3s, but they got to the free throw line,” Gomez said. “We didn’t shoot very well from the free throw line tonight, and we had 20 turnovers. But it’s getting a lot better for us.”

Senior forward Erin Mitchell had 14 points for Roswell, including three 3-pointers. Sophomore guard Samantha Matta added 12 points.

Junior post Morgan Hill posted a season-best 18 points and was the Lady Rams’ lone double-figure scorer.

The Lady Rams are on the road again on Saturday with a 2 p.m. clash at Moriarty.

Roswell High 54, Portales 48

Portales (3-5) — Tara Johnson 2 1-5 6, Briana Hernandez 1 0-0 2, Caroline Knudson 2 0-2 5, Megan Kabrick 3 3-4 9, Patty Terry 2 0-0 5, Morgan Hill 8 2-5 18, Ashleah Richards 0 3-4 3. Totals 18 9-20 48.

Roswell High — Samantha Matta 3 5-7 12, Stephanie Gomez 2 4-4 9, Justine Ledesma 1 0-0 3, Joanna Gutierrez 1 0-0 2, Sugar Tarin 2 2-2 7, Elizabeth Bennett 1 2-3 4, Erin Mitchell 4 3-3 14, Meghan Aho 0 3-4 3. Totals 14 19-23 54.

Portales 9 19 8 12 — 48

Roswell High 18 13 12 11 — 54

3-pointers — Portales (3): Johnson, Knudson, Kabrick. Roswell High (7): Mitchell 3, Gomez, Ledesma, Matta, Tarin. JV score — Roswell High 25, Portales 19.