Portales outlasts Clovis, takes season sweep

CLOVIS — Portales’ girls basketball team was determined not to lose two in a row.

Clovis’ girls basketball team was determined to bring down the team that had sent it to a 20-point loss two weeks earlier.

Only one of the teams would get what it wanted on Saturday, and it was Portales, by way of a stunning third-quarter turnaround that helped propel the Lady Rams to a 54-48 victory at Rock Staubus Gymnasium. With it, they improved to 7-1 and quickly erased the sting of their first loss of the season, which occurred just a night earlier against Robertson.

The Rams climbed out of a seven-point third-quarter hole to do it.

“I felt like the first half (against Clovis on Saturday) was kind of a continuation of (Friday) night,” Portales head coach Wade Fraze said. “We weren’t doing things right. And against good teams like Robertson and Clovis, you have to do things right.”

“We learned from (Friday) night and knew that we were better than that,” Rams junior Taylee Rippee said. “And we worked harder in the second half (Saturday) to get the win.”

But not before Clovis dictated the first half, dominated on the boards, drove strong to the basket, hit buckets consistently. Portales didn’t score until 2:42 had gone by in the first quarter, and that was at the foul line, as senior guard Zamorye Cox sank a pair of free throws. The Rams’ first field goal didn’t come until approximately the three-minute mark of the opening period.

Clovis continued its strong play on both ends of the floor into the second quarter, resulting in a 22-17 Wildcat lead at the break, 24-17 after sophomore Madison Tolbert went strong to the hoop to open the third-quarter scoring. At that point, Clovis seemed well on its way to a third straight victory.

Not so fast. Portales went on an 11-0 run that included five points from Rippee, and two apiece from Lindsay Blakey, Sarah Lovato and Cox, transforming a seven-point deficit into a 28-24 lead.

Teya Morris finally ended Clovis’ scoring drought with two foul shots at the 1:57 mark of the third quarter, but Portales scored the last seven points of the period, on a short Kelly Fraze jumper off Codi Flores’ inbounds pass, a fast-break hoop from Rippee, and a Mattison Blakey free throw.

When the third period was over, Clovis had not hit a field goal since Tolbert’s quarter-opening bucket, had only two points since then — those foul shots by Morris — and four points in the quarter overall.

“That was the quarter that did us in,” Clovis head coach Jeff Reed said. “We always have a bad quarter and that was the bad quarter.”

Something had definitely changed dramatically at halftime. For both teams.

“I think it was a determination to change how we were playing,” Coach Fraze said. “I think (the Rams) realized they hadn’t played their game in the first half.”

“We said, ‘We’re going to go out there and block out and get more rebounds,’” Rippee said.

“We knew we just had to lock down on D,” Cox said, “and not let them drive to the basket.”

The Lady Wildcats thought they were prepared for a Portales run coming out of intermission.

“I told them, ‘We’ve got to be ready to come out and play hard the third period,” Reed recalled, “because they’re going to bring it.’”

Bring it, the Rams did. And they kept bringing it in the fourth quarter, though Clovis hung around, stayed within a reasonable distance most of the way, even climbed within five (33-28) on a pair of Kaydee Weaver free throws early in the period, and again on a Hayley Kidd bucket that made it 35-30 following a driving shot by Rippee.

But while the Rams never blew the game open, they also never let the margin get down to panic mode. Late in the fourth, they even constructed the game’s first double-digit lead, 54-44, on a fast-break layup by Kelly Fraze.

Four straight points by Morris allowed Clovis to finish six behind.

Portales returns to action Monday night, hosting Texico Monday after the junior varsity game that starts at 4 p.m.

Clovis (5-4) won’t play again until after Christmas, giving the Lady ’Cats plenty of time to address whatever they need to.

“We’ll have all next week, basically. ... We’ve got practice all week,” Reed said. “So maybe we can watch film and work on some stuff. ... But the girls have to take what we tell them and apply it.”

Portales 54, Clovis 48

Portales (7-1) — Sarah Lovato 2, Zamorye Cox 13, Lilly Saiz 2, Kelly Fraze 9, Lindsay Blakey 8, Taylee Rippee 15, Mattison Blakey 4, Codi Flores 1. Totals 16 21-33 54.

Clovis (5-4) — Sydni Hill 1, Brittni Chavez 3, Teya Morris 22, Madison Tolbert 15, Kaydee Weaver 4, Hayley Kidd 2, Mikyla Harkley 1. Totals 14 19-30 48.

Portales 11 6 16 21 — 54

Clovis 13 9 4 22 — 48

3-pointers — Portales, Fraze. Clovis, Chavez.