Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
LOS LUNAS – Jeff Reed called it an “ugly” game.
Still, winning ugly is better than the alternative.
Clovis High’s girls shot 19-for-22 from the free throw line, including 6-of-6 in overtime, and rallied for a season-opening 62-58 victory over Valencia on Saturday afternoon.
Senior guard Amanda De La Rosa scored a personal-best 19 points, including 4-of-9 from 3-point range and 5-of-5 from the foul line, while sophomore guard Gianna Cordova added 18 with 3-of-4 from distance, including a 3 to tie the game 54-54 with 21 seconds left and force the extra session.
Junior guard Mariana Villezcas added 12 points while senior post Katy Archey narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and 12 rebounds. De La Rosa and junior guard Mariana Villezcas both had eight boards.
Villezcas added 12 points, including a pair of 3s. Both teams converted nine shots from beyond the arc in the contest.
“It was an ugly game, but at least we fought,” said Reed, the Lady Cats’ veteran coach. “We made some shots and some free throws down at the end to win the game.”
While the Lady Cats shot just 33 percent overall from the floor (17-of-51), they were at 50 percent on 3s.
Valencia (0-2) jumped out to a 7-0 lead. CHS countered with its own 7-0 run, but the Lady Cats found themselves working from behind most of the way.
They used three second-quarter 3-pointers to open a 22-18 margin, but Valencia ended the half on an 11-4 run for a three-point edge at the break.
In the third quarter, the Lady Jaguars opened an eight-point cushion (39-31) and led 41-37 at period’s end. Trailing 44-37 early in the final segment, the Lady Cats rallied back for a 51-49 lead down the stretch.
Cordova’s 3-pointer from the left corner then set up the overtime. Villezcas converted a steal into a layup early in the OT and Clovis never relinquished the lead.
Archey, Cordova and Villezcas each added two free throws to close out the win.
“There was a lot of emotion in the first game,” Reed said. “I loved the fight we had, and we figured out a way to win.”
Valencia, which lost its opener at Gallup 73-40, got five 3-pointers and 17 points from junior guard Savannah Saavedra. Junior forward Jaiden Montgomery added 15 points.
Clovis is in action three days in a row this week, playing its first two games in a four-team round-robin at Dexter against Eunice at 5 p.m. on Thursday and against East Mountain at noon on Saturday. Because they already had their home opener at Rock Staubus Gymnasium slated for 7 p.m. on Friday against Lubbock Trinity Christian, the Lady Cats will return to Dexter to face the Lady Demons in their final game of the round-robin on Jan. 13.
Boys fall to Rio Rancho – Clovis dropped to 0-2 for the season on Saturday with a 76-61 loss at Rio Rancho.
Senior guards Tyshaun Williams and Kevin Archuleta and junior guard Jordan McNeely all finished with 17 points for the Rams (2-0), who crushed Los Alamos 80-30 in their season opener. Archuleta tallied 13 points in the opening half as Rio Rancho built a 36-24 advantage at the intermission.
The Wildcats, coming off a opening 72-46 loss at home to Atrisco Heritage, played the Rams evenly in the third quarter and were outscored by just three points in the second half.
Junior guard Luke Carpenter had five of the team’s seven 3-pointers and led Clovis with 15 points, while senior guard Johnny Molina added 11. Senior guard Jayden Cox came in with nine points.
Rio Rancho also finished the night with seven 3s, five coming from McNeely.
The Cats are back at The Rock to take on Hereford on Tuesday night. They return to Rio Rancho on Friday night to face the Cleveland Storm.
