Lady Cats beat Hobbs again

Clovis sophomore Brittany Blackmon hauls in one of her team-high seven rebounds. CNJ photo by Rick White.

Maybe the streak is headed the other way.

Clovis handled the Hobbs Lady Eagles for the second time in four nights Monday night, winning 43-35 at Rock Staubus Gym in a playoff for the top seed in the District 4-5A tournament.

The Lady Cats (24-3) advanced to Saturday’s 4-5A tournament championship game, which they will host, and assured themselves a trip to next week’s regional round of the playoffs.

“It was a great defensive effort,” said CHS girls coach Miles Watters, whose squad forced the playoff and ended a seven-game losing streak to the Lady Eagles with a 52-36 win on Friday night. “The second half, we defended our tails off and did better on the boards.”

Hobbs (19-7) mounted several runs after falling behind by nine points, but the Lady Eagles couldn’t muster enough offense to catch up.

“Both teams played their hardest,” CHS sophomore point guard Tori Quintana said. “Their backs were against the wall. But I think the turning point was that our posts came out and dominated the boards in the second half.”

Sophomores Aimee Hilburn and Brittany Blackmon led the Lady Cats with 12 points apiece, including a 3-pointer by Hilburn at the halftime buzzer that put Clovis up by seven points.

“I was just pumped up and ready to play after that,” Hilburn said. “They pressured us a lot and made it hard to get the ball into our posts.”

Hilburn said both teams were a little nervous.

“I just tried not to get caught up in the game,” she said. “I just tried to let it come to me.”

Hobbs coach and former CHS assistant Johnny Casaus took heart in the fact his team played much better than it did in Friday’s 52-36 loss.

“I’m proud of our kids,” said Casaus, whose squad will host a district tournament semifinal game on Friday. “They could’ve folded (after falling behind early), but they were determined they were going to make a good showing.”

Sophomore Ashley Jackson scored eight points for the Lady Eagles. Both teams shot less than 35 percent from the field, but the Lady Cats downed 13-of-18 free throws, including 5-of-6 in the final minute, while Hobbs went 8-for-19.

“We didn’t play that well offensively,” Watters said. “But it’s nice to beat a good team when you don’t play that well.”

As they were Friday night, the Lady Cats got a boost from a boisterous home crowd.

“The fans were great again tonight,” he said. “We need to have that again Saturday night.”

Hobbs (19-8) — Lezlie Varner 1 1-4 3, Jessica Nelson 3 1-2 7, Bianca Rojo 2 2-2 6, Ty Como 3 1-4 7, Emily Holmes 0 0-0 0, Kassie Baxley 1 1-2 4, Chantelle Hinojos 0 0-0 0, Ashley Jackson 3 2-5 8, Chelsea Bengel 0 0-0 0. Totals 13-38 8-19 35.

Clovis (24-3) — Tori Quintana 1-6 4-4 7, Melissa Roberts 0-3 1-2 1, Brittany Blackmon 4-9 4-7 12, Monique Walker 3-7 1-2 7, Tori Northcutt 0-3 0-0 0, Jessica Russell 0-1 0-0 0, Jessica Hohn 1-2 0-0 2, Aimee Hilburn 4-7 3-3 12, Tyisha Brown 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 14-41 13-18 43.

Hobbs 8 12 7 8 — 35

Clovis 15 12 7 9 — 43

3-pointers — Hobbs 1-6 (Baxley), Clovis 2-4 (Hilburn 1-1, Quintana 1-2, Roberts 0-1). Rebounds — Hobbs 24, Clovis 27 (Blackmon, Walker 7). Assists — Hobbs n/a, Clovis 11 (Hilburn, Northcutt 4). Total fouls — Hobbs 17, Clovis 18. Fouled out — none.