Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Clovis guard Brittni Chavez goes between Sandia defenders Jaelyn Foster and Erika Provencio for a layup attempt in the second quarter of Saturday's District 2-6A game at Rock Staubus Gymnasium.
CLOVIS — The Clovis High's girls basketball team dug themselves out of a seemingly impossible hole on Saturday night. The Lady Wildcats just couldn't finish the deal.
Sandia scored the game's first 13 points, saw the Lady Cats rally to take the lead briefly at the start of the third quarter and then pulled away again for a 53-33 District 2-6A victory at Rock Staubus Gym.
Sophomore guard Sapirah Broussard did much of the damage for the Matadors (14-4, 2-2 district), hitting four of the team's eight 3-pointers and finishing with 17 points. Senior forward Cara Liggins had a pair of 3s and finished with 15.
Sophomore Brittni Chavez scored 10 points for the Lady Cats (8-12, 1-3), including a 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer that pulled Clovis to 20-19. On the first possession of the second half, senior forward Monay Phillips converted a pair of free throws for a one-point lead.
Junior center Marisol Silva, though, converted a loose ball into a basket about a minute later and senior Jaelyn Foster added a 3-pointer at the 4:38 mark. Chavez got her second 3 with 1:58 to go in the period to make it 25-24, but the Matadors scored the final eight points of the period, capped by a Liggins 3, for a nine-point cushion.
The Lady Cats, trying to deal with Sandia's pressure defense, were hurt by seven turnovers in the period.
Sandia eventually built the margin to 23 points late in the contest.
Clovis 59, Sandia 57, OT (boys): At Albuquerque, junior guard Brandon Romero scored on a putback late in regulation to force overtime and the Wildcats held on late after scoring the first six points in the extra session.
Junior guard Jakeem Wynn scored 22 points while Romero added 20 and senior Taitt Kuchta scored 10 for the Cats (9-11, 2-2 district). Clovis went 22 for 29 from the free throw line, including 10 of 12 by Wynn and 9 of 11 by Kuchta, while the Matadors were just 8-for-16.
"We led most of the night," CHS coach Scott Robinson said. "The kids came out with a lot of energy, ready to play. It really was a good high school basketball game.
The free throw line was good for us tonight. We did a good job of attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line."
Senior forward Tanner Sloan poured in 32 points for the Matadors (8-10, 0-4), but no one else had more than seven for Sandia, which dropped its fifth consecutive game overall.
