Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Texico freshman Kinzee Crow (foreground) and junior Kaya New attempt to beat Mescalero eighth-grader Symiah Gonzalez to a loose ball during Friday's Class 2A girls first-round state tournament game at Texico.
TEXICO – Texico's girls weren't about to let Mescalero sneak up on them in the first round of the Class 2A state tournament on Friday night.
The seventh-seeded Lady Wolverines revved up their pressure defense, forcing a bevy of turnovers in an early 12-0 run that allowed them to cruise past the Lady Chiefs 65-28 and advance to an 11:30 a.m. Tuesday quarterfinal match against second-seeded Mesa Vista at Rio Rancho Events Center.
Senior guard Catelyn Breshears tallied 16 points, including nine in the opening stanza which ended with the Lady Wolverines in front 17-8. Junior guard Kaya New added 13 as 10 of 13 players reached the scoring column.
Texico had beaten 10th-seeded Mescalero 43-33 in the season opener at home on Nov. 28.
"That first game we didn't have Catelyn," New said. "We had a whole week to prepare for this game. It was good for us to go on an early run."
Mescalero committed 10 of its 23 turnovers in the opening canto, and simply never recovered. Five points by Breshears, including a 3-pointer, made it 22-8 in the opening 30 seconds of the second frame and the margin stayed in double figures the rest of the way.
"The kids played well," Lady Wolverines coach Jaylyn Cook said. "Our defense has gotten a lot better since the first time we played them."
The game was tied 3-3 with Breshears and freshman Laurdis Sundayman exchanging early 3s before New found senior Emma Whalen for an inside bucket at the 4:25 mark of the opening stanza. Breshears' steal and layup capped the early run with 2 ½ minutes left in the period, making it 15-3.
New fell just short of her personal best of 14 points against Tularosa in a December tournament game in Texico, which posted a season high in points against the Lady Chiefs.
"She (Cook) always tells me, 'Just get a layup and other shots will fall,'" New said. "I think this was a confidence-booster for us, but now we play the No. 2 seed so we'll have to prepare for that."
Senior forward Ivonna Burgess led the way for the Lady Chiefs (19-9) with 11 points.
"I'm really proud of my kids," Cook said. "They've really bought in this season. I like where we are right now, and I'll go to battle every day with these girls."
In other area first-round girls games on Friday night, both in Class 1A:
Dora 46, Alamo Navajo 40 – On paper, the Lady Coyotes (19-9) pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the night with a win over the fifth-seeded Lady Cougars (21-7) at Magdalena.
Dora went on a 20-1 run in the second quarter, fueled by nine of junior Faith Jasso's game-high 19 points, to take a 29-7 lead at halftime. The margin was still 22 points entering the final stanza before Alamo Navajo made a belated charge.
Freshman Dakota Jones had 13 points for Dora, which lost two players to fouls. Alamo Navajo converted three 3-point plays and a couple of 3-point shots in the final frame to make the final score fairly close.
Dora faces fourth-seeded To'Hajiilee (25-1), a 78-34 winner on Friday over Jemez Valley, in a 3 p.m. quarterfinal game on Wednesday at Bernalillo H.S.
Senior Elliana Guerro led the Lady Cougars with 13 points.
Melrose 55, Cimarron 20 – The top-seeded Lady Buffs (25-1) had no trouble extending their winning streak to 19 games at Melrose, overwhelming the Lady Rams (13-12) with a 21-3 first-period charge.
Melrose will face ninth-seeded Springer (21-6), which eked out a 54-53 win over Logan on Friday night, in a 6:30 p.m. quarterfinal on Wednesday at Bernalillo.
Seniors Sorrell Allen with 14 points and Isabelle Sena with 13 paced the Lady Buffs, while senior Caitlin Kenneke was Cimarron's high scorer with seven.
