Lady Cats 2-0 after win at Trinity Christian

LUBBOCK – Clovis High’s girls were stuck in mud early in Friday night’s game against Lubbock Trinity Christian.

Once the Lady Cats – and particularly freshman guard Gianna Cordova – got going, though, there was no stopping them.

CHS improved to 2-0 for the young season, riding a 31-point second quarter to a 68-39 victory over the Lady Lions.

Cordova, playing her second varsity game, rifled in four 3-pointers and 26 points as the Lady Cats erased an early eight-point deficit. Senior guard Zarai Lewis added 19 points.

“She shot the ball great tonight,” Clovis coach Jeff Reed said of Cordova. “If we have people who can come off the bench like that for us, it’s really going to help.”

Reed called a timeout with his team trailing 12-4 late in the first quarter.

“We tried to regroup a little bit,” Reed said. “We were just shellshocked.”

The Lady Cats went from a man-to-man defense to a zone and increased their defensive pressure over the court. The Lady Lions (3-3) simply couldn’t handle it, and by the time halftime arrived Clovis held a 38-20 lead.

After a relatively even third stanza, the Lady Cats finished off Trinity Christian with a 19-6 blitz over the final eight minutes.

“We turned our pressure up, and they couldn’t handle it,” Reed said. “We couldn’t handle their man-to-man early, but they weren’t very deep.”

Senior center Katie Holcombe was the only Lions player to reach double figures with 10 points.

Clovis opens its home schedule on Friday with a 7 p.m. tipoff against Valencia at The Rock.

Hereford 72, Clovis boys 57 (Friday) – It wasn’t the kind of opener the Wildcats were seeking.

Senior guard Brandon Gonzales had three 3-pointers and 18 points to help the Whitefaces (3-2) turn back the Cats at Hereford.

“We got outworked most of the game,” Clovis coach Josh Mattox said. “Every time we’d close the gap, they’d hit us with something else.”

CHS cut a seven-point, first-quarter deficit to 28-27 at halftime, then quickly moved in front in the third frame. The game seesawed for a while and the Cats were still within four with about three minutes left, but they couldn’t get over the hump.

Junior guards Tyi Duque and Brylyn Lopez added 13 and 10 points, respectively, for Hereford. Senior center Marvin Cox led the Cats with 13 points, 11 coming in the first half, while junior guard Kalil Torres-Pierre finished with 10.

The Wildcats were slated to face Rio Rancho in their home opener on Saturday at Rock Staubus Gym. On Tuesday night, they entertain Roswell Goddard in a 7 p.m. tipoff.

Clovis 57, Cleveland 41 (Tuesday) – At Rio Rancho, the Lady Cats led 7-0, fell behind 10-9 at the quarter and then outscored the Storm 13-0 in the second stanza to take control of the season opener for both teams.

Lewis poured in 24 points in this one, including eight in the second-quarter domination.

“We matched up defensively in the second quarter and shut them down,” Reed said. “That was the difference in the game.

“At halftime, they made some adjustments to the zone and they hit four 3s.”

Still, it was hard for Cleveland to make many inroads. The Storm scored 31 points after halftime, but were still outscored by four.

Lewis also led the Lady Cats with nine rebounds. All told, eight players scored for CHS, with senior post Kailyn Jefferson adding 11 points and nine rebounds.

Cordova and junior guard Amanda De La Rosa were each credited with three of the team’s 11 assists, while senior guard Aspyn Ulibarri notched four steals.

Senior guard Kindyll Sandoval led the Storm with 16 points, including four of the team’s seven 3-pointers.