Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
CHS sophomore guard Brynn Petner tries to get out of a double team by Roswell High during Tuesday's District 4-5A tournament opener at Rock Staubus Gym. The Lady Wildcats posted a 54-43 win over Roswell High, but were edged out at Carlsbad 35-33 in Thursday's semifinals.
CARLSBAD – It would be interesting to see what kind of seed Clovis High's girls would get in next week's Class 5A state tournament if it weren't for Carlsbad.
The Lady Wildcats have gone 20-8 this season, but three of those losses have been administer by the Cavegirls (16-11) – by a total of five points, no less.
Carlsbad had only eight points at halftime on Thursday's District 4-5A tourney semifinal and trailed by 18 in the third stanza, but the Cavegirls held Clovis to 10 second-half points and advanced with a 35-33 win on a last-second basket by junior guard Abbey Dugan.
"We were playing pretty good," Lady Cats coach Jeff Reed said of the first half, which ended with his squad in front 23-8. "We left a lot of (points) on the floor, but we had a 15-point lead."
Dugan scored 14 of her team-leading 16 points in the second half, hitting buzzer-beating shots at the end of the third and fourth segments. Carlsbad had a date at top-ranked Hobbs (23-3) in Saturday's district tourney championship tilt.
"Dugan just took over the game in the second half," Reed said.
Senior post Kailyn Jefferson was the only player in double digits for the Lady Cats with 11 points.
Clovis 54, Roswell High 43 (Tuesday) – The Lady Cats cruised into halftime with a 12-point lead and kept the fourth-seeded Lady Coyotes at bay the rest of the way at Rock Staubus Gym.
Senior guard Zarai Lewis had 14 points and Jefferson 13 for CHS, while junior guard Amanda De La Rosa collected a trio of 3-pointers for nine points.
"I'm glad to be done with Roswell," said Reed, who reached the 20-win plateau for the eighth time in his 16 seasons with the program. "Roswell is just good enough to hang around. The more you play a team, the more they figure you out."
Senior guard Sarai Morales scored 14 points, including three 3s, to lead the Lady Coyotes (11-15), who ended their season on a five-game losing streak. Junior guard Emma Esquivel added 10.
"Roswell kept trying to make it a game," Reed said. "It was nice to get the win so we can get back to Carlsbad. We just want to keep playing and extending our season as long as we can."
