Portales routs Ruidoso in 4-4A tourney opener

PORTALES — Even with a rough first half, the Portales girls basketball team managed to pull things together and put Ruidoso away for good, winning its first round of 4-4A tournament play Tuesday night, 61-25.

The effort was led by Zamorye Cox who turned in 16 points for the Lady Rams (15-9), with 11 coming in the second half. Taylee Rippee added 12 points, with 10 in the final half.

The Lady Warriors (5-22) struggled offensively all night and had nobody score more than five.

Though up by double-digits at the half, Portales was admittedly struggling with both fouls and knocking down open shots.

"If you're going to be physical and aggressive it needs to be inside," said Portales coach Wade Fraze. "(We) can't be fouling 80 feet from the basket out in the open. It just wasn't smart play in the first half."

Fraze said he liked the intensity and aggressiveness, but felt it needed more focus.

"I think we just started doing the little things right," said Fraze. "We were still being aggressive, but in a more intelligent and controlled way."

Heading into Tuesday's contest, the Lady Rams had beaten Ruidoso by an average of 35 points in the previous two meetings. While the Lady Rams weren't necessarily worried about this game, they did want to use it to bring some momentum into their upcoming game with Moriarty.

"(Moriarty is) a whole different team, defensively and offensively . . . We have to go in and be ready, more ready than we were today," said Fraze.

The Lady Rams will travel to Moriarty Thursday for their second district tournament game.

Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.