Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Clovis High junior guard Zarai Lewis leads a fast break during the Lady Wildcats' semifinal matchup with Miyamura on Wednesday in the Plateau Holiday Classic at Rock Staubus Gym. The Lady Wildcats defended their tourney title on Thursday night, beating Centennial 38-32 in the championship game.
CLOVIS – Any offense that was lacking for Clovis High's girls on Thursday night was made up for by solid defense.
Taking the lead for good midway through the third quarter, the Lady Wildcats held Centennial at bay down the stretch and claimed a 38-32 victory to defend their championship in the Plateau Holiday Classic at Rock Staubus Gym. Clovis beat another Las Cruces school, Organ Mountain, in the 2021 title tilt.
Junior guard Zarai Lewis scored 11 of her 16 points in the second half en route to all-tournament honors for the Lady Cats (8-3). Junior post Kailyn Jefferson also represented Clovis on the eight-player contingent.
"We had a great defensive game plan, and the girls executed it well tonight," Lady Cats coach Jeff Reed said. "I thought our game plan on offense was good as well; we just had to finish shots a little better."
Clovis looked like it was well on its way when Lewis opened the second quarter with a 3 and senior Ali Thomas added a basket for a six-point lead. But Centennial (6-5), which upended Sandia in Wednesday's semifinals, finished the half on an 11-2 run for an 18-15 halftime advantage.
Lewis' two free throws put the Lady Cats in front for good 23-22 midway through the third, and senior guard Martha De La Rosa followed with a 3 for a four-point margin.
Centennial, though, was still within 34-32 with 4:28 left after a basket by senior guard Aspen Salazar. But the Hawks didn't score after that and while the Lady Cats garnered only four more points on shaky 4-fo4r-10 foul shooting, it was enough to hold on.
"That was a super-tough game," De La Rosa said. "Mentally and physically, we dug deep. I think we just wanted it more."
Asked what Reed had talked about at halftime with the team down, De La Rosa said it was about eliminating breakdowns.
"He just said we needed to run our offense better and handle their pressure," she said. "When we did that, we ended up getting layups."
Salazar, who tallied 13 points in Thursday's tilt, and senior guard Joslyn Montez made the all-tourney unit for the Hawks.
Thursday's other three girls matchups were routs – Roswell High over Dexter 60-10 for seventh place, Las Vegas Robertson over Taos 59-14 for fifth and Sandia over Miyamura 68-29 for third.
Clovis returns to action with a 5 p.m. tipoff on Tuesday against Laguna Acoma at The Rock in its final contest of 2022.
