Lady Cats overcome slow start

LOVINGTON – Clovis High girls coach Jeff Reed realizes his team needs to be pushed a bit before starting District 4-5A action later this month.

On Saturday, the Lady Wildcats got pushed. They trailed Lovington 9-0 and 16-3 in the first quarter, then fell behind again early in the third quarter before rallying for a 68-56 victory to improve to 15-3 for the season.

Senior post Katy Archey went 9-for-9 from the free throw line and scored 17 points, leading four CHJS players in double digits. Sophomore guard Gianna Cordova added 16 and senior guard Amanda De La Rosa 14, each contributing a pair of 3-pointers, while sophomore post Kerrington Goff finished with 13.

Lovington (11-7) came out firing the 3-ball, hitting a couple early in sprinting to a quick led. Overall, the Lady Cats gave up eight 3s for the game.

“We had a horrible start,” CHS girls coach Jeff Reed said. “Give Lovington credit; they came out and punched us in the mouth, but we responded.”

Clovis trailed the entire first half until forging its first tie 33-33 at the break after going on a 10-2 run to end the half. Lovington regained control briefly early in the third, but the Lady Cats battled back and led 54-45 heading into the final eight minutes.

“We did a good job of fighting through the adversity,” Reed said. “I was proud we were able to come back. It was a good test for us on the road, and hopefully we’ll learn from it.”

The Lady Cats were to host Roswell Goddard on Tuesday night. They visit Portales for a 7 p.m. tipoff on Friday before beginning their District 4-5A slate on Tuesday at Carlsbad.

Boys drop pair on road – After a tough last-second loss the night before, Clovis’ boys completed a two-game weekend trip out west on Saturday and took a 74-53 loss at the hands of Organ Mountain at Las Cruces.

On Friday night, Alamogordo erased a seven-point, fourth-quarter deficit and claimed a 46-45 victory over the Cats when junior guard Isiah Richards made the second of two free throws with less than a second left.

The Wildcats (7-10) were overwhelmed early by the Knights (11-5), led by former Portales High coach Randy McBroom. Senior guard Lenny Washington scored 12 of his game-high 19 points in the opening stanza as Organ Mountain sprinted to a 27-11 advantage.

Down by 23 at the break, the Cats managed to play the Knights evenly in the second half, but it was too little and far too late.

Washington had three of Organ Mountain’s seven 3-point baskets. Senior forward Ethan Peck had 10 of his 15 points before halftime for the Knights, who extended their winning streak to five games.

Senior guard/forward Jayden Cox led Clovis with 19 points while junior guard Jaden Tapia added 13. Each had two of the Cats’ six 3s.

At Alamo, the Cats used a 19-point third quarter to build a 41-34 lead entering the final frame, but they were limited to just two baskets.

Richards and sophomore forward/center Bryson Bloom scored 11 points apiece for the Tigers (8-8), who lost to Portales at home 66-64 in overtime on Saturday in a makeup contest. Senior guard Jordan Bryant finished with 10 tallies.

Cox and junior guard Clifton Brown had 11 points each for Clovis.

The Cats played their final pre-District 4-5A tilt on Tuesday night at Fort Sumner. They open the district slate next Tuesday at Carlsbad.