Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Clovis junior Teya Morris drives past Piedra Vista's junior Hanna Sayyeau in the first half of Friday night's fifth-place game of the Plateau Holiday Classic at Rock Staubus Gymnasium.
CLOVIS - After shaking off a five-game losing streak, things are hopefully looking up for Clovis High's girls.
The Lady Wildcats registered their second win in a row on Friday, using a big third quarter to beat Piedra Vista 57-47 for fifth place in their own Plateau Holiday Classic at Rock Staubus Gym.
One of the reasons for their success was a balanced attack. Senior post Monay Phillips poured in 16 points while junior guard Sydni Hill added three 3-pointers and a personal-best 12 points and junior guard Teya Morris finished with 11.
"It was nice to have some other people (besides the normally high-scoring Morris) step up," CHS girls coach Jeff Reed said. "Teya didn't get what she normally does, but we had several other people with double-digits or near-double-digits."
Trailing 28-26 at the half, the Lady Cats (6-7) got 11 points from Phillips and outscored the Lady Panthers 23-6 in the third period, including the last 14 in a row to open a 49-34 lead.
After a basket by Morris to start the final quarter, Piedra Vista put together a 9-0 run to cut the margin to eight before the Lady Cats were able to ice away the final four minutes or so.
Hill hit a pair of 3-pointers and Phillips added another as the Lady Cats opened a 16-14 lead at the quarter. They had a chance to tie it going into halftime, but a last-second layup was off the mark.
"We played probably the best we've played as a team (in the second half) since the Clayton game (a 74-20 rout on Dec. 2 at The Rock)," Reed said.
Piedra Vista (7-5) was led by 14 points from senior forward Elli Wright.
Dumas defeated Highland 39-33 to win the tournament championship, led by tournament MVP Hannah Thomas. Matlee Fangman also represented the Lady Demons on the all-tournament team, along with Highland's Brooklyn Crawford and Esparanza Crespin, Morris, and Lyla Denny of Farmington.
The Lady Cats' next outing is on Friday at Artesia. They'll have home games against Roswell Goddard and Rio Rancho Cleveland the following week before beginning their 10-game District 2-GA schedule at Eldorado on Dec. 17.
