Logan girls top Melrose in semifinals

TEXICO - One thing is sure when it comes to the Melrose-Logan girls basketball rivalry - the teams will always see a lot of each other once the calendar turns to the new year.

Long-time District 6-1A foes, it's not unusual for the squads to meet four or five times in a season, including often in the state tournament.

They faced off in Friday's Eastern Plains Athletic Conference semifinals and slugged it out before the Lady Longhorns came away with a 33-25 victory.

Logan, which ended a 43-year EPAC title drought by winning the most recent title in 2020, looked to defend its crown on Saturday night against top-seeded Fort Sumner, which turned back Texico 48-42 in Friday's other championship semifinal.

Logan coach Glynna Strand knows it won't be the last time her squad sees the Lady Buffs.

"It was a rough game," she said. "They're a good team, and we'll have to play them several more times this season."

The Lady Longhorns (9-3) were also preparing for another familiar district foe on Saturday in the Vixens (9-1).

"They're tough," Strand said. "They're very big and physical, and they've got a couple of good ballhandlers. We'll have to be tough as well."

Senior Rilee Nials was the only player on either team in double figures with 10 points for Logan, followed by sophomore Hailee Robertson with nine. Meantime, junior Isabelle Sena had seven points for Melrose (6-4), while sophomore Kye Saulsberry scored six.

Despite missing its last two attempts, Logan finished 13-of-16 from the free throw line while the Lady Buffs were 9-of-21.

Melrose was without head coach Caleb King and assistant Elaine DeVaney, both of whom were ill. Lady Buffs volleyball coach Casey Jackson took the reins for the tournament, assisted by junior high coach Caley Barnard.

"We just couldn't get anything to go in," Jackson said. "We really had a hard time in the second half, for sure."

The teams were neck-and-neck for most of the half. Sena's free throw gave Melrose a 16-15 lead with 52 seconds left, but Robertson got behind the defense for a layup and senior Kyra Conway added four free throws in the remaining time to stake the Lady Longhorns to a 21-16 edge at the break.

Both teams struggled on offense the rest of the way. Logan scored the first seven points of the third period, holding the Lady Buffs scoreless for nearly seven minutes and limiting them to three field goals in the half.

In the earlier semifinal, Fort Sumner finally began to pull away late after trailing the fifth-seeded Lady Wolverines 20-19 at halftime.

Senior Megan Oberg led the Vixens with 16 points. Meantime, junior Catelyn Breshears (21 points) and sophomore Kaya New (15) provided most of the offense for Texico (4-6).

In consolation semifinals on Friday:

Tatum 47, Floyd 30 - The young, inexperienced Lady Broncos gave a pretty good account of themselves, but couldn't overcome the two-pronged attack of sophomore Valeria Marizcal and eighth-grader Avery Hennard, who each tallied 19 points for the Lady Coyotes (7-5).

High scorers for Floyd (0-10) were sophomore Sherlyn Borrego with 12 points and sophomore Jona Baros with eight.

Dora 57, Grady 41 - The Lady Coyotes built a 13-point halftime lead and put three players in double digits to turn back the Lady Bronchos.

Seniors Katelyn Burnett and Brynn Dillard netted 11 points apiece for Dora (7-4), while freshman Justice Deason had 10. For Grady (4-6), sophomore Shayla White poured in a game-high 21 points - including four 3-pointers in the third period to keep her team in the hunt.