Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Texico senior Jazzi Walls (left) and Happy junior Lana Moudy battle for a loose ball during Saturday’s championship game in the Farwell Invitational . CNJ photo by Eric Kluth.
Texico’s strategy of pressuring depth-thin Happy into an uptempo game worked in three of the four quarters.
In the second stanza, though, the Cowgirls blitzed the turnover-plagued Lady Wolverines 22-2, opening a 19-point halftime lead en route to a 49-41 win in the finals of the Farwell Invitational.
Only four players scored for Happy (7-2), but all were in double figures — led by 6-foot, 1-inch senior Brittany Spradling with 18 points. Senior Kristy Keeling came off the bench for 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers and eight points in the second-quarter run.
Spradling also had eight points in the period as Happy turned a 13-12 deficit into a 34-15 halftime lead.
“They just got hot,” Texico coach Buddy Little said of the Cowgirls’ second-quarter eruption. “They’re a heck of a team. We played hard; we played as good as we could.”
Senior guard Sissy Loper scored 11 points for the Lady Wolverines (6-1), while seniors Mindi Roberts and Jazzi Walls added 10 points apiece. Texico recovered from its sluggish second quarter to get as close as 43-38 with three minutes left, but Spradling added a basket and four free throws in the remaining time to lock up the title.
Tara Williams, a 6-foot senior, added 11 points for the Cowgirls before fouling out late while 6-foot junior Lana Moudy scored 10. The Cowgirls successfully defended their tournament title despite the fact that two of the nine players on their roster missed the tournament due to illness, first-year coach Betsy Baughman said.
“We’re notorious for coming out in the third quarter and playing sloppy,” Baughman said. “But I have to credit Texico for giving us a great game.
“This was a great experience for us; this was a volatile place to play, but it will help us get ready for the teams in our district. We really learned a lot from playing this team.”
Moudy, Spradling, Roberts and Texico’s Brette Hadley were named to the all-tournament team, along with Trisha Winebrinner of Friona.
Boys
Texico 52, Farwell 51 — Junior Logan Brown scored on a drive with 11 seconds left and the Wolverines held on to successfully defend their tournament championship.
On Farwell’s possession, the Wolverines knocked the ball over the baseline with 3.4 seconds left. Texico then deflected the inbounds pass into backcourt as time expired.
Texico (6-1) opened a 28-22 halftime lead by holding the Steers (7-3) to just three second-quarter points, including no field goals. Down by 12 points late in the third quarter, Farwell took a 51-50 lead on a 3-point basket by senior guard Jason Johnson with 25 seconds left.
“The kids really played well,” Wolverines coach Richard Luscombe said. “That (second quarter) was a big turning point. It’s hard to keep them from shooting, but we didn’t want to let them have second shots.”
Senior guard Johnny Rivera scored a career-high 19 points and was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Braden Vaughan and Bryce Bailey. Vaughan finished with 11 points for the Wolverines while Brown scored 10.
“We kind of self-destructed (in the second quarter), but in the second half we did a better job of getting the ball inside,” Farwell coach Kirk Saul said. “I really thought we needed to make it a fullcourt game, but (Texico) handled our press better than I thought they would.”
Johnson and Grant Gregory led the Steers with 13 points apiece. Gregory and junior center Tyler Myers of Farwell rounded out the five-man all-tournament squad.
