Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
LAS CRUCES — Clovis High’s girls were positioned to sneak out of town with a Class 5A round-of-16 victory on Friday night. The Lady Wildcats just weren’t able to close the deal.
Leading by two points about midway through the final stanza, the Lady Cats saw Las Cruces High pull away down the stretch to claim a 50-41 victory.
The fifth-seeded Lady Bulldawgs (22-7) advanced to a Tuesday night quarterfinal match at fourth-seeded Farmington while Clovis, the No. 12 seed in the 16-team field, saw its campaign end at 18-11.
“I thought we were going to have a chance to finish them off, but instead they did it to us,” CHS coach Jeff Reed said. “We had some opportunities; we missed some layups and missed some shots. They threw on a press (defense) and we were able to break it, but we couldn’t convert (into points).”
Cruces went 5-of-7 from the free throw line down the stretch, including 4-of-5 by junior guard/forward Lila Ashida.
Early on, the Lady Cats came out clicking. They opened an 11-7 lead at the quarter as senior guard Yvonne Fuerte knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and junior forward Ali Thomas added another.
But Cruces responded with a 20-point second quarter. Sophomore guard Zarai Lewis beat the halftime buzzer with a 3-pointer to keep Clovis within 27-23 at the break.
The lead was two for Cruces heading into the final segment before the Lady Cats briefly inched in front.
Junior guard Emma Christiano led the way for the Lady Bulldawgs with 18 points, while Ashida added 12.
Lewis had 15 points and Fuerte had 12 for the Lady Cats, who were in the postseason for the first time since 2018. Clovis tied a season high with seven 3-point baskets, including three by Lewis and two by Fuerte.
Reed said the season was about what he’d hoped for with a relatively inexperienced squad.
“I predicted 17 (wins) at the beginning of the year,” he said. “We got back to the playoffs this year, and had a chance to win this game.”
While five seniors graduate, the Lady Cats return several key players, led by Lewis and Thomas.
