Lady Cats top Valencia for first win

CLOVIS — With a relatively inexperienced squad, this may be a season where few leads are safe for the Clovis High girls basketball team.

Saturday may have been an example of that. Fortunately for the Lady Wildcats, their cushion was big enough that when the struggles came they were able to close the deal in a 47-34 victory over Valencia in their home opener at Rock Staubus Gym.

The Lady Cats (1-1) trailed once and were tied once in the first five minutes, but eventually built a 17-point lead early in the final stanza.

Valencia (0-2) went to fullcourt pressure and rattled Clovis a bit, but the Lady Jaguars were unable to get closer than nine points in the remaining time.

“I felt we were on our way at halftime with a 15-point lead (25-10), but we came out flat in that third period,” CHS girls coach Jeff Reed said. “We never let them get real close, but we had trouble putting them away.”

Sophomore guard Zarai Lewis scored eight of her personal-best 16 points in the final stanza, including 4-for-4 from the line in the period. The Lady Cats kept the lead relatively comfortable, shooting 8-of-11 from the stripe in the segment.

“I think we got a little frustrated,” Lewis said of the team’s late struggles. “We just have to learn to handle the pressure and fight through it.”

Reed said his bench players performed well, paced by senior guard Luisa Chavez with nine points.

Valencia junior Zoe Brown hit a 3-pointer to open the scoring, but Clovis ran off the next seven. The Lady Bulldogs then pulled even on back-to-back baskets by senior guard Elena Lucero, but the Lady Cats took control with a 10-0 run that carried into the second canto.

They found themselves hanging on a bit, though, near the end.

“I didn’t think we would lose,” Lewis said. “I thought we would pull through. It all comes back to the pressure and being able to handle it.”

The Lady Cats held Artesia to just one field goal over the final 11 minutes of the half, outscoring the Lady Bulldogs 13-3 in the second stanza.

The lead reached 35-18 on a basket by junior post Shalanda Lefevre early in the fourth quarter.

“Our defense fell apart at times,” Reed said of the Lady Bulldogs’ comeback bid. “The bright side of this is we have a lot of growth left.”

Except for Lewis, no one else was in double digits for either team. Valencia put four players between six and nine points, led by freshman guard Jayden Montoya.

The Lady Cats were slated to host Roswell Goddard on Tuesday night at The Rock. Their next outing is on tap next Tuesday night at Artesia.