Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Tigers will meet 4-1A rival Melrose for fifth time this season.
Elida's Thanva Banda hits the floater during the Lady Tigers' 64-30 win over Hondo Thursday.
BERNALILLO — In convincing fashion, the Elida girls basketball team cruised to another Class 1A state tournament semifinals win over Hondo Valley on Thursday, beating the Lady Eagles 64-30.
The win moved top-seeded Elida to 25-6 on the season and places the Lady Tigers in today's 11:30 a.m. final against district rival and second-seeded Melrose, a 41-27 winner on Thursday over Roy/Mosquero. Elida is seeking a seventh consecutive small-school state title.
Today will be the fifth meeting of the season between Melrose and Elida, with the Lady Buffs claiming the 4-1A tiebreaker game and Elida returning the favor in the 4-1A tournament championship.
Elida is 105-2 against its own classification during its title run, but both losses have come courtesy of Melrose this season. The first of those cost the Lady Tigers a 100-0 start.
Kasyn Creighton scored 18 points, shooting 4-of-6 from the field and 10-of-10 from the line, to lead three players in double figures for Elida. Her effort paced scoring advantages of 31-0 off the bench and 24-10 in the paint for the Lady Tigers.
Lacy Ferguson scored 13 points, while Madi Haley added 10.
Hondo (24-5) had no one in double figures. Chase Dictson scored nine points to lead the Lady Eagles.
Up by 15 at halftime, Elida started the third quarter with several turnovers and bad possessions, letting Hondo cut into its deficit. Dipping down to single digits momentarily, the Lady Tigers rallied and went on to outscore the Lady Eagles 14-7 to push their lead to 22.
"I think the girls finally realized they could play with them," Hondo coach Alice Velasquez said. "They are faster and probably more athletic, but we can play with them."
A key moment came when Hondo's two guards, Joyce Cooper and Nina Herrera, picked up their fourth fouls, putting a halt to the Lady Eagles' comeback chances. It was all Elida from there.
Where the Lady Tigers really won the game was in the paint and with their guard play on defense. Elida forced the Lady Eagles into 22 turnovers.
