Roswell High dominates Lady Rams in second half

Clay Stout doesn't want to hear about how young his Portales Lady Rams squad is this season.

With four freshmen and three sophomores on a 10-player roster — and junior guard Francis Armijo not available due to illness — PHS battled Roswell High through an up-and-down first half, scoring 10 of the last 13 points for a 13-12 lead at the break.

But it was all Lady Coyotes after that. Roswell High scored on the first possession of the second half to take the lead for good, outscored Portales 17-4 in the third quarter and cruised to a 42-22 victory on Thursday night at the Ram Athletic Center.

Stout didn't want to use his team's relative youth — the Lady Coyotes start a freshman and a sophomore, but their 14-layer roster includes eight seniors — as an excuse.

"They were just tougher than we were," Stout said. "We talked at halftime about how we have to be more physical and play tougher with the ball, and we didn't (do that).

"To me, it's not about (the opponent), it's about us. It doesn't matter who we're playing. It's a matter of playing tough enough, and right now we're not."

Roswell HIgh (12-4), which beat PHS 32-31 in a holiday tournament at Roswell Goddard, extended its winning streak to 11 since a 1-4 start. The Lady Coyotes host Class 5A second-ranked Hobbs (15-1), which beat Roswell High by four points at home earlier, on Tuesday.

CMI correspondent: Joshua LuceroLady Rams freshman Kambrey Blakey drives past Roswell High sophomore Georgia Eldridge during the first half of Thursday's girls basketball matchup at the Ram Athletic Center. The Lady Coyotes beat Portales 42-22.

The Lady Coyotes started in man-to-man, went to a 2-3 zone in the second quarter and harried the Lady Rams with their pressure all night.

Roswell High, which turned the ball over on its first three possessions of the game, finished with just 10 floor errors while hounding the Lady Rams (11-5) into 23.

"We had some kids who started making plays (after halftime)," Lady Coyotes coach Joe Carpenter said. "We needed to be able to turn them over."

"(The Lady Rams are) well-coached; they do all the things right. It's just a matter of whether they can get the right matchup."

No one reached double figures for either team. Senior guard Tiffanie Bolares had nine points and senior guard Myla Brown and sophomore forward Georgia Eldridge added eight apiece for Roswell High, while freshman guard Sheraya Cox scored eight points for Portales.