Hope Christian tops Portales girls

PORTALES — Despite a strong opening quarter, the Portales High girls basketball team couldn't keep up with the high-powered offense of Hope Christian Tuesday night, ultimately losing 66-42.

Led by Zamorye Cox with 15 points, Portales (14-9, 3-3) struggled over the final three quarters while the Lady Huskies (23-2, 6-0) started to really hit their stride. Hope had three players finish in double-digits, with Alivia Lewis and Charity Murphy scoring 13 each, while Brielle Milford added 12 points.

Lady Rams coach Wade Fraze thought the first quarter went well for Portales, but too many defensive breakdowns and mental lapses did the team in as the contest continued.

"The defense was where we needed to be (early) and the longer the half went on, we just started watching the ball, not being where we needed to be and leaving people wide opened ... We have to start the game aggressive and tough and play that way for four quarters. I'm not talking physically, but mentally."

While Lindsay Blakey and Taylee Rippee more than held their own down low for the Lady Rams, Hope's length and athleticism proved too much for Portales over four quarters. With two starters in Lewis and Murphy standing over six-foot for the Lady Huskies, the inside threat was too much for Portales to ignore, which led to wide-open opportunities from beyond the arc for Hope Christian and nine made 3-pointers total.

"Hope forces you to get very physical and we just have to toughen up a lot if we are going to compete with them," Fraze said. "They are just going to manhandle you if you let them and that's exactly what we did."

The loss marks Portales' final game of the regular season. The Lady Rams will district tournament as the third seed, with Hope Christian in first and Moriarty second.