Clovis girls figuring things out

CLOVIS — Were Clovis High a smaller school, perhaps fans would see a running, gunning, razzle-dazzling team moving the ball quickly up and down the court this season.

Being 5A — a notch smaller than last year, but still plenty big — means the Lady Wildcats will have to adapt to the schools that size, schools like Hobbs, Carlsbad and Roswell, who will likely force them to play a certain way.

“We’re still trying to figure that out,” Clovis head coach Jeff Reed said Monday night in his office at Rock Staubus Gymnasium. “I think it’ll be really hard for us to be a run and press (team) at the 5A level. If we were a 2 or 3A we’d be running and pressing, doing everything. But at the 5A level there are such great teams and athletes out there, that it’s going to be really hard to do, especially against Carlsbad and Hobbs in our district, because they’re both loaded with athletes right now. ... So we’re going to be filling it out as we go, as to what we’re really going to be, if we’re going to be man, zone, if we’re going to be able to press any, run any. We’re going to fill it out as we go because we are so young.”

Reed referred to Carlsbad and Hobbs because they will be quality district opponents for Clovis this season. Playing the likes of those teams is perhaps the biggest challenge of switching from District 2-6A to District 4-5A this season.

“It’s nice to come back in this district down south because of the travel,” Reed said, “but Hobbs and Carlsbad will be two of the top teams in the state, if not 1 and 2 in the state. So that’s going to make it tough.”

And losing key players always makes it tougher. Last year’s top scorer Teya Morris now does her scoring for Division II UT Permian Basin in the Lone Star Conference.

Sydni Hill — who usually ran the Lady Wildcats’ offense and came up big late in their district quarterfinal overtime win over Manzano — has also graduated, as have Hayley Kidd, Azzianna Smith and Espy Robles.

Posts Antanishwa Molett (5-7) and Kaydee Weaver (5-8), and guard Tajvionna Johnson (5-5) are the only three seniors on this season’s team, and at press time Molett had what Reed called “a tweaked knee,” as he anxiously awaited her test results just days away from Friday’s season opener against Portales.

“We’re hoping that she’s able to play Friday night,” Reed said, “but that’s going to hurt us a little bit if she’s not healthy. Because she’s definitely one of our best athletes and we need her on the court.”

Even with a healthy Molett, three seniors is not a bunch. “We have a lot of young girls coming back off of last year,” Reed said. “So hopefully they can use getting that varsity experience as freshmen and sophomores last year. Hopefully they can use that and not come in like a regular sophomore or junior this year. They’ve got a year of experience, some of them a lot of experience.”

Guard Aydan Everett (5-6) is another junior who played a good deal last season as a sophomore. Also in that category is 5-7 post Madison Tolbert, who suffered a season-ending leg injury in the middle of last season, setting the team back inside. Reed is hoping for Tolbert’s complete return to health.

Junior guard Annabelle Martinez (5-4) didn’t see a whole lot of varsity playing time last season, but did get some time, and Reed has high hopes for her being one of this season’s key contributors.

Mikyla Harkley was just a freshman on last year’s team, but seemed to emerge more as time went on. By late season, she was regularly pulling down big rebounds when the Lady Wildcats needed them and doing some occasional scoring, too. She’s now a 5-9 sophomore, who can play both post and guard.

The roster is rounded out by 5-4 junior guards Cierra Jenkins and Sofia Rico; sophomore posts Hanna Nussbaumer (5-11), Skyler Jordan (5-10) and Alandra Romero (5-7); and sophomore guard Danielle Acuna (5-6). Nussbaumer was part of a goalkeeper platoon for the state-tournament-bound Clovis girls soccer team during the fall.

How it all comes together for the girls basketball team should start to look a little clearer in this weekend’s Foxy’s Drive-In Shootout at Staubus Gym, during which Clovis will play two defending smaller-school state champions. After opening on Friday against Portales — who claimed the 4A title last March 9 at The Pit in Albuquerque — Clovis will face Texico — who captured a 3A crown earlier that same day at the same place, but will play at 2A this season.

They should be among the good early-season tests for Clovis.

“We like the opportunity to play them, it’s a challenge,” Reed said. “I think Portales, Texico — we have a chance to do well against them. We’re going to have to step up and play really well to beat them.”

And then, the comparably-sized schools start popping up on the schedule.

“Of course we hope we can get to a point where we can compete with some of our 5A district opponents,” Reed said. “Playing them right now? No, I don’t want to play ’em right now. But hopefully as we get through the season, we’ll get to a point where we’ll be able to compete with those teams.”