Lady Rams go game up on Lovington

LOVINGTON — It was anything but pretty, the kind of game the Portales Lady Rams have made a habit of winning over the years.

Even this one, though, was stranger than usual.

Portales took a stranglehold on the District 4-3A race Tuesday night with a 31-27 victory over Lovington in a game which saw the teams attempt 43 free throws and combine for only 13 field goals.

Freshman guard Sheraya Cox made 1-of-2 free throws in the closing seconds to finally put it out of reach for the Lady Rams (17-7, 2-0 district).

Cox finished with 16 points as the Lady Rams went a game up on Lovington (16-8, 1-1) in district play. Portales gets its final two games at home.

The Lady Rams led 10-5 after the first quarter, but scored only nine points over the next two stanzas as the Lady Wildcats stayed close.

"We got off to a decent start," PHS coach Clay Stout said. "In the second quarter, neither team could buy a bucket."

Stout said the Lady Rams got into foul trouble in the second period. Both teams then went the entire third period with one field goal, with PHS coming out of it with a 19-16 lead.

"It was a close game all the way," Stout said. "They're pretty athletic. I thought we did a good job on the boards, and that's probably what won the game for us."

Senior Cori Haley had only one field goal but led the Lady Wildcats with 11 points. Junior Jocelyn Jeffery added 10.

"We couldn't get any kind of rhythm at all," Stout said. "But in spite of that, I'm pleased with the girls being able to pull it out."

The teams meet again on Tuesday at the Ram Athletic Center before PHS finishes out the regular season at home against Ruidoso on Feb. 22.

Tuesday

District 4-3A

Girls

Portales (17-6, 2-0) — Francis Armijo 0 3-4 3, Bailey Rowley 0 1-2 1, Sheraya Cox 4 8-13 16, Hannah Cissell 1 0-0 3, Kambrey Blakey 1 0-0 2, Kacie Terry 0 4-4 4, Savannah Vincent 1 0-0 2. Totals 7 16-23 31.

Lovington (16-7, 1-1) — Juztice Perry 2 1-3 6, Cori Haley 1 9-11 11, Selena Ornelas 0 0-2 0, Jocelyn Jeffery 3 4-4 10. Totals 6 14-20 27.

Portales 10 3 6 12 — 31

Lovington 5 3 8 11 — 27

3-pointers — Portales, Cissell. Lovington, Perry. Junior varsity — Portales 38, Lovington 17.