Stout wary of sub-.500 St. Mike's

Don't be deceived by St. Michael's sub-.500 record, Portales girls coach Clay Stout says.

The Lady Horsemen, seeded 14th at 13-15, are perfectly capable of giving third-seeded PHS (20-6) a run for its money in tonight's round-of-16 Class 3A girls matchup at the Ram Athletic Center.

"They're pretty good — in fact, I think they're real good," Stout said. "They have a tough district (5-3A) with Hope (Christian) and Santa Fe Indian."

The Huskies and Lady Braves, in fact, are the only teams seeded ahead of the young but surging Lady Rams, who have put together a nine-game winning streak.

The teams haven't met in almost three years, since St. Mike's bounced PHS from the 2010 state tournament quarterfinals.

Stout said the Lady Horsemen are a perimeter-oriented team, but can also score inside.

"They run lots of screens for their post to try to get the inside points," he said. "(But) we really have to do a good job of fighting through double screens and staggered screens and not losing their best shooters."

With five freshmen on the 11-player roster, including three who are regular contributors, Stout said the Lady Rams have made much progress since the start of the season.

Tonight's winner advances to a 3 p.m. quarterfinal game Tuesday against either sixth-seeded Lovington or No. 11 Raton at Rio Rancho's Santa Ana Star Center.

Gameday

No. 14 St. Michael's (13-15) at No. 3 Portales (20-6)

When: 7 p.m. today in a round-of-16 Class 3A state tournament game at the Ram Athletic Center

Radio: KSEL-FM 105.9

Last time out: The Lady Horsemen lost to Sandia Prep 49-44 on Feb. 25 in the District 5-3A tournament. PHS defeated Lovington 56-44 on Saturday at the RAC to win the District 4-3A tourney title.

Of note: Against common foes, the Lady Horsemen are 4-3, Portales 7-1. … St. Mike's top player is sophomore Christiana Gabledon, who averages 11.5 ppg and 3.5 spg. … St. Mike's lost to Lovington 40-29 in last year's 3A state quarterfinals. The Lady Rams reached the semifinals in 2012, where they were ousted by Santa Fe Indian.

— Compiled by Dave Wagner