Banged-up Elida girls survive Melrose

MELROSE — The Elida Lady Tigers managed to overcome knee injuries to two starters and a myriad of fouls Friday night to nail down second place in the District 3-1A girls race.

In a game where both teams shot 43 free throws, the Lady Tigers (16-7) pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 59-53 victory over Melrose, relegating the Lady Buffaloes (11-14, 4-4) to third place.

Senior Amber Griffin and junior Kodi Armitage, both starters, have gone down to knee injuries over the past couple of weeks. Elida girls coach Dan Howard said Saturday that Griffin’s injury will put her out for the rest of the season while Armitage may be able to come back in a week or two.

“We don’t have many (players) to start with, and losing two starters definitely hurts,” said Howard, who brought up several eighth-graders for depth. “Our bench stepped up and played big-time last night.”

Three Elida starters fouled out in Friday’s game, but the Lady Tigers rode 15 points from senior Casey Ford, 14 from senior Shalie Anthony and 11 from sophomore Alicia Cross-Smith to the victory.

Junior post Schuyler Cochran led Melrose with 14 points. Sophomore Zanessa Dodd and freshman Janea Eshleman added 10 points apiece.

In the boys matchup, each team shot only five free throws and Melrose pulled away to a 59-34 victory. The win booted the Buffaloes (18-6, 6-2) into a tie with Fort Sumner (17-7, 6-2) for the district title, and those teams were to have a playoff on Saturday night in Clovis to determine the top seed in next week’s District 3-1A tournament.

Elida (11-12, 1-7) cut an 11-point first-quarter deficit to 26-22 at halftime before the Buffaloes went on a 17-4 run in the third quarter.

Junior guard Carlos Ruiz led Melrose with 18 points, including three 3-pointers. Freshman Trenton Chenault topped Elida with nine.

Floyd-Dora — At Dora, the Floyd boys overcame a slow start to register their fifth consecutive win, a 40-34 verdict over the Coyotes.

Junior guard Jerrod Long carried the Broncos (15-11, 5-3) back from a 23-12 halftime deficit with 23 points, including three 3-pointers. Junior Tyler Wilhoit scored 17 points to pace Dora (7-19, 2-6).

The teams will meet again on Tuesday at Floyd in a 6 p.m. first-round district tournament game.

Dora’s girls opened a 15-4 lead at the end of the first quarter and were never threatened in rolling to a 46-31 win over Floyd.

Seniors Kassandra Clark (14) and D’Shawn Pettigrew (11) led the Lady Coyotes (10-14, 2-6). Junior Kelli Johnson had eight points and juniors Darcee Chenault and Jewlie Paiz seven each for Floyd (8-17, 0-8).

District 3-1A

Boys

Melrose 59, Elida 34

Elida (11-12, 1-7) — Dylan Radcliff 7, Thomas West 6, Cade Cathey 2, Trenton Chenault 9, Wesley Gilmore 8, Caleb Widener 2. Totals 16 0-5 34.

Melrose (17-7, 6-2) — Jeremy Weese 6, Carlos Ruiz 18, Cedar Rush 9, Tyler Tatum 7, Justin Lockmiller 4, Caleb Dodd 3, Ryan Sneller 2, Jason Runyan 8, James Bray 2. Totals 26 2-5 59.

Elida 8 14 4 8 — 34

Melrose 19 7 17 16 — 59

3-pointers — Elida (2): Chenault, Radcliff. Melrose (5): Ruiz 3, Rush, Tatum. JV — Melrose over Elida, score n/a.

Floyd 40, Dora 35

Floyd (15-11, 5-3) — Kyle Kropf 4, Manny Carrillo 3, Jonathan Mitchell 4, Bryan Johnson 1, Jerrod Long 23, Eric Padilla 1, Brad Lee 4. Totals 14 9-19 40.

Dora (7-19, 2-6) — Travis Belcher 5, Tyler Wilhoit 17, J.R. Gonzales 7, Brent Hays 6. Totals 11 11-23 35.

Floyd 4 8 14 14 — 40

Dora 10 13 3 9 — 35

3-pointers — Floyd (3): Long 3. Dora (2): Gonzales, Hays. JV — Floyd over Dora, score n/a.

Girls

Elida 59, Melrose 53

Elida (16-7, 6-2) — Alicia Cross-Smith 11, Casey Ford 15, Lindsey Wood 4, Janice Taylor 2, Adrienne Coe 5, Lindsey Smith 8, Shalie Anthony 14. Totals 16 27-43 59.

Melrose (11-14, 4-4) — Audrey Hemminger 6, Schuyler Cochran 14, Janea Eshleman 10, Kelly Fish 2, Jamie Dickerman 7, Zanessa Dodd 10, Lauren Widner 1, Lauren Graham 3. Totals 15 20-43 53.

Elida 16 17 5 21 — 59

Melrose 8 16 14 15 — 53

3-pointers — Elida: none. Melrose (3): Cochran 2, Eshleman. JV score — Elida 40, Melrose 34.

Dora 46, Floyd 31

Floyd (8-17, 0-8) — Kelli Johnson 8, Brook Reed 2, Darcee Chenault 7, Noel Carpenter 5, Carlee Dement 2, Jewlie Paiz 7. Totals 11 5-18 31.

Dora (10-14, 2-6) — Jennifer Bolin 8, Tearney O’Connor 1, D’Shawn Pettigrew 11, Kendra Merrick 2, Rana Terry 8, Kassandra Clark 14, Audra Pinkston 2. Totals 20 3-8 46.

Floyd 4 6 12 9 — 31

Dora 15 11 8 12 — 46

3-pointers — Floyd (4): Carpenter, Chenault, Johnson, Paiz. Dora (3): Clark 2, Pettigrew.