Lady Rams post win at Lovington

LOVINGTON — Portales beat Lovington 65-41 Friday to close out the first half of its District 4-3A schedule undefeated, but Lady Rams coach Brenda Gomez said the score does not necessarily indicate Portales dominance.

Senior Briana Hernandez led the Lady Rams with 22 points, including five three-pointers, in her second game since returning from a dislocated shoulder in January.

Senior post Kaycee Quick added 17 points for Portales (11-9, 3-0 district).

“I think we could improve on some things, we missed a lot of shots early under the basket and around the basket and that would have really set the tone for the game,” Gomez said. “We didn’t finish and we could have.”

Portales took a 19-13 lead in the first quarter en route to a 34-22 halftime advantage.

Portales tightened up its defense in the third period, allowing just five Lovington points, and took a 46-27 lead into the fourth period.

“In the first quarter, they drove around us and they pulled up and shot threes,” Gomez said. “In the third quarter we did better about playing man so we had people lined up.”

Hernandez’ shooting has gotten better since the injury, but Gomez wouldn’t recommend it to everybody.

“I think she’s gotten better,” Gomez said. “She didn’t have to go to that extreme, but she’s doing OK.”

Lovington (10-10, 2-1) was paced by eighth-grader Kenzie Black with 12 points and junior Jazmine Hernandez with 11.

Portales plays at Dexter Tuesday night.

“We just have to get better every time we get on the floor,” Gomez said.