Lady Rams near district crown

PORTALES - Portales High's girls miss injured senior guard Riley Shillings on the court.

Senior guard Teagan Faust, meantime, is doing what she can to make sure there's not much dropoff.

Known more for her defense and passing, Faust put together her fourth consecutive double-figure game in District 4-4A play as the Lady Rams all but clinched the regular-season title on Friday night with a 51-38 win over Roswell Goddard at the Ram Athletic Center.

As usual, Faust led the team with four steals and she was one of three PHS players to collect three assists. But she also finished with 13 points and a couple of 3-point baskets, including one right out of halftime which helped Portales (16-5, 4-0 district) expand a two-point halftime lead.

Shillings suffered a torn ACL when Portales played at Goddard to open the district slate.

"With Riley out, we had to have somebody take up the slack," Lady Rams coach Wade Fraze said. "Teagan's really stepped up for us."

Senior guard Taris Rippee scored 17 points while senior post Kylyie Paden added 15 points and a personal-best 15 rebounds for Portales, which outscored the Lady Rockets 20-9 in the third frame to open a 40-27 advantage.

After halftime, Fraze switched Teague on Lady Rockets guard Alexis Sandoval. "She did a good job on her," he said.

Sandoval finished with two 3s and 15 points, but no one else reached double digits for the Lady Rockets (12-9, 2-2).

Goddard 60, Portales boys 53 - The Rams came into district play on a four-game winning streak, but fell to 0-4 in the district and 9-12 overall.

"We battled; my kids played hard," Rams coach Randy McBroom said. "We've got to do some of the little things better, but to be honest I don't know if anybody in the state is playing harder than we are."

The district-leading Rockets (15-9, 4-0) led the entire way after the first quarter, but the Rams were within three heading into the final stanza.

Junior guard Davian Lucero had his best game for PHS, pouring in a game-high 22 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor, including 4-of-5 from distance, and 8-of-9 at the free throw line.

"Davian played his best game of the year," McBroom said. "He shot the ball really well.

Junior post Emmanuel Diahn returned to action after missing two games with an injury. He led the Rams in rebounds with six, but the Rockets limited him to just one point.

Senior forward Noah Reese topped Goddard with 15 points.