Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Clovis junior Jakeem Wynn splits La Cueva defenders on his way to the basket for the layup in the first half of Tuesday night's District 2-6A contest at Rock Staubus Gymnasium.
ALBUQUERQUE — The La Cueva Bears stayed in the driver's seat in District 2-6A Tuesday night, posting a 60-28 victory over shorthanded Clovis.
Delaney Markham scored 13 to lead three in double figures for the Bears (13-6, 5-0).
"They're solid," Clovis coach Jeff Reed said. "They don't have one girl who's the stud, but they've got a bunch of girls that are good. They're big, they're physical, they get after you on defense."
Brooke McGee scored 11 and Kaya Ingram 10, and nine Bears in total entered the scoring column.
Clovis, led by Monay Phillips' 11 points, had difficulties scoring. Guard Hayley Kidd added nine, but no other Clovis player notched more than two points.
The Lady Cats gave themselves a puncher's chance after an 11-8 third quarter cut it to 40-26, but La Cueva iced it with a 19-0 run to open the fourth.
"According to my managers, we had 33 turnovers," Reed said. "They (Bears) forced a lot of turnovers, but a lot of it was just us not handling the ball. We're doing everything we can to scrape, scrap and have a chance to compete, but sometimes we don't help ourselves."
The Clovis girls are back in action on Saturday, hosting Eldorado.
La Cueva 64, Clovis 62 (boys) — At Rock Staubus Gymnasium, Thomas Jenson hit a short jumper with less than 20 seconds to go, and the visiting Bears snuck out with the win.
The host Wildcats had just taken the lead on a steal and layup by senior Taitt Kuchta, who finished with four 3-pointers and 17 points for Clovis. The Wildcats had two possessions following Jenson's go-ahead bucket, but committed a travel on one and couldn't get a shot off in the final 8.2 seconds.
The Cats (9-12, 2-3 district) had edged La Cueva 54-52 in a tournament game at Albuquerque in December.
"It's what I expected," CHS coach Scott Robinson said of the tight matchup. "This time of year, when you get into district (games), you're not going to have any easy nights.
"I'm proud of the kids. They battled and gave themselves a chance to win."
Junior guard Jakeem Wynn led the Cats with 18 points, while junior guard Brandon Romero was also in double digits with 14.
Senior guard Lawrence Calais led all scorers with 22 points for La Cueva, including four 3-pointers, and junior guard Elijah Herron added 14.
Clovis goes on the road on Saturday to face Eldorado in district play.
