Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Farwell senior Presley Agee tries to maneuver through New Home defenders Morgan Addison, left, and Addie Stewart in the third quarter of Saturday's game.
FARWELL - Playing shorthanded didn't seem to be a big issue on Saturday for the New Home girls basketball team.
Locked in a seesaw battle with Farwell, the Lady Leopards suddenly caught fire with six 3-pointers over span of eight-plus minutes in the second half and pulled away to a 40-29 victory over the Lady Blue.
New Home (8-5) had converted just one trey to that point, and found itself trailing 21-15 after Farwell (8-6) put together a 12-0 run over a seven-minute stretch spanning halftime.
"We have a tendency to have some hot streaks," New Home coach Stacy Manning said. "Thank God we were finally able to get one in the second half."
Freshman guard Addy Burns had four of the second-half 3s, including back-to-back shots to tie the score, and finished with 18 points. Meantime, junior McKenzie Johnson's 3 gave the Lady Leopards the lead for good 24-23 at quarter's end before Burns and sophomore Carley Smith, both lefties, added 3-balls in the opening minute of the final stanza.
Then Burns all but put the game out of reach, capping a 52-second possession out of a Farwell timeout with a 3-pointer to make it a 10-point game with 2:36 to go.
"Addy Burns stepped up big-time," Manning said. "She's been just trying to find her footing, but I think this may be kind of a breakout day for what she can do."
On paper it looked to be a good matchup, but Farwell coach Mikel Turner knew his squad had its work cut out.
"Their losses have been to good teams," he said. "Their schedule is insanely tough.
"We lost our assignments (on defense). They (Lady Leopards) typically shoot 3s pretty well."
Two sophomore post players, Kelby Baccus (ankle) and Abi Cathey (quarantine), did not dress for New Home. That put more pressure on the Lady Leopards' outside scoring, and it came up big down the stretch.
Farwell erased a 15-9 deficit with 3s from senior Presley Agee and sophomore Charlie May Trimble in the final two minutes of the half, then scored the first six points after the break. But the Lady Blue managed only eight points over the final 13 1/2 minutes.
"Honestly, we missed so many shots inside," Tucker said. "Our shots haven't really been falling for the last three games or so."
No one reached double figures for Farwell, with Trimble and Agee each finishing with seven points.
