Lady Rams roll past Texico

PORTALES — It's interesting how anyone's game can quickly turn into a one-sided affair.

That was how it went Monday night when the Texico and Portales girls basketball teams met in the last pre-Christmas action for each. As late as the third quarter, the teams were separated by just a point. It wasn't much later than that, however, when the Lady Rams went on a devastating 12-0 run that gave them a comfortable lead. It was never uncomfortable for the Rams again, as they rolled to a 58-34 rout of Texico at Portales High School's Ram Athletic Center.

The Rams made a clear statement in the third quarter that anyone's game would be theirs and theirs alone. They did it by digging in on D, scrapping and scraping under the boards — for offensive rebounds as well as defensive — and playing with seemingly more poise, more confidence.

"I think that was the key," Portales head coach Wade Fraze said. "In the second quarter, I thought that our defense let down and (the Lady Wolverines) were outrebounding us, limiting us to one shot. And that's what we talked about at halftime."

"We were playing more as a team instead of individually (in the third quarter)," Portales senior forward Lindsay Blakey said. "We were running through our plays, passing the ball and seeing who was open. ... Overall, it was our defense that was the best, and our offense took care of itself."

Blakey was especially dominant in the second half, when she scored 18 of her 20 points.

"I was being more aggressive on the inside, and getting in front of the defense," she said. "And getting in perfect position in order to rebound."

Teammate Taylee Rippee also dominated, pouring in a game-high 21 points. The frontcourt duo's total of 41 accounted for 71 percent of Portales' scoring.

"Them being active off the ball, it made it harder (for Texico) to box them out," Fraze said. "And I think this is the most aggressive I've seen Lindsay all year."

It came at a fortuitous time, allowing Portales to notch its second straight win after suffering its first loss of the season on Friday. The Rams held off Clovis on the road, 54-48, Saturday night.

Monday's game featured a battle of powerhouses — Texico in 3A, Portales in 4A — but the power was out in the early going, as the teams combined for just 17 first-quarter points, with the Rams leading 11-6 heading into the second.

Though Portales led 17-7 early in the new quarter, Texico battled back to within 17-13 on short jumpers from Jasmine Davalos and Maryelle Dickerman sandwiched around a pair of Alex Hill free throws. A Rippee foul shot made it 18-13, but the Wolves scored five more points in a row, on a Hill bucket and a three-point play by Sours, tying the game at 18 while completing an impressive 11-1 run.

An off-balance shot by Zamorye Cox put the Rams back in the lead with less than 20 seconds to go in the half.

Though Portales stretched to a 24-18 advantage on two Blakey free throws and a turnaround banker from Rippee early in the third quarter, Texico closed to within a point with another 5-0 run, this one including two foul shots from Kaylee Miller and a left-elbow trey from Sours.

It was 24-23 with a little more than half the third quarter remaining. Anyone's game indeed.

But not for long. After Sours' three, Portales scored right away on its ensuing trip down the floor, as Cox hit from the left baseline. The Rams soon regained possession, and Rippee sank the first of two foul shots, making it 27-23 with 4:44 left in the third. Portales got the offensive board and finished the possession when a Blakey shot swirled in. She was fouled on the play, and though Blakey missed the free throw, Rippee got to the ball as it headed off the rim, tipped it to herself and put in the follow-up to give her team a 31-23 advantage.

A Texico timeout at the 4:32 mark of the third quarter didn't make things much better for the Lady Wolves, who turned the ball over, which soon led to a right-corner trey from Cox.

Rippee ended the run by going off glass, putting the Rams ahead 36-23. They stayed in command and led 46-28 by quarter's end.

Blakey opened the fourth quarter with a steal, and when she scored, Portales had its first 20-point lead of the night, 48-28.

When the Rams' decisive victory was official, they were done playing games for 10 days. They will resume play in the Littlefield Tournament on Dec. 28, giving them plenty of time to work on whatever Fraze wants to improve.

"Little things," he said. "It's those little fundamental things when you play in tournaments, when you play three games a week. Little fundamental things tend to go out the window."