Lady Rams cruise into quarterfinals

PORTALES — Normally, Portales High’s girls are pretty solid on the defensive end.

Friday night, they were absolutely stifling.

After falling behind 2-0 more than three minutes in, Portales held Los Alamos to four points the rest of the half and went on to a 42-26 victory in a Class 4A round-of-16 state tournament game at the Ram Athletic Center.

Seeded fourth, the Lady Rams (21-5) earned themselves another game at the RAC on Tuesday night, where they hosted fifth-seeded Highland (21-5), a 48-45 winner at home on Friday over St. Pius.

Only four players reached the scoring column for Portales, but it was more than enough against a Lady Hilltoppers team which normally scores in the high 30s. They had a tough time finding shots in this one, though, especially early against the Lady Rams’ aggressive man-to-man.

“We played really good defense,” said senior guard Teagan Faust, who finished with nine points, four assists and four steals. “We really jumped on them in the first half, and they got frustrated.”

Trailing 21-6 at the break, Los Alamos (13-15) was more on the attack the rest of the way and the second half was relatively even.

“It was tough to get baskets, but I think defensively we played pretty good, too,” Lady Hilltoppers coach Ray Romero said. “The big girl (senior Kylyie Paden) was tough, and they have some tough guards. But we enjoyed playing them because it made us better.”

Paden led PHS with 15 points, while senior guard Taris Rippee finished with 11.

Senior forward Adrianna Garcia had the other seven points, including a pair of 3-pointers. The second one, early in the final period, ended a 6-0 Lady Hilltoppers run which had trimmed a 15-point deficit to nine.

“That was a backbreaker,” Romero said of Garcia’s shot from the top of the key. “We didn’t expect her to hit it.”

Faust was largely responsible for holding Los Alamos’ top scorer, freshman guard G.G. Romero, in check. Romero finished with a team-high nine points.

“No. 10 (Romero) got frustrated, but Teagan does that to people,” PHS girls coach Wade Fraze said. “I was very proud of our defense.”

Both Faust and Fraze were geared up for the next round, with the winner advancing to Thursday’s semifinals at The Pit in Albuquerque.

“(We take it) just one game at a time,” Faust said. “Our seniors have played together our whole lives. We just want to leave it all out there.”

Fraze said the Hornets should provide a stiff challenge.

“Highland’s really good,” he said. “They have two girls who are about 6-1, and they’re very athletic.”