Portales girls win over struggling Ruidoso

CMI staff

RUIDOSO — In what is pretty much an extended home-and-home, Portales got the better as the road team.

The Lady Rams recovered from a slow first half and used a 17-6 third quarter en route to a 52-31 win District 4-3A victory on Friday night at Ruidoso.

Portales (20-4, 2-2 district) meets the Lady Warriors again at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Portales, with the stakes slightly higher. The winner on Tuesday travels to top-seeded Lovington on Friday to play for the District 4-3A tournament championship.

Ruidoso (3-20, 0-4) must win Tuesday to have any chance to make the 16-team Class 3A field, while Portales is virtually guaranteed a playoff spot, being one of only three 20-win teams in Class 3A behind Shiprock (24-0) and Lovington (21-4).

Portales coach Wade Fraze said it was nice to see the second-half effort to pull away from the Lady Warriors.

“We weren’t rebounding, we weren’t blocking out, we were turning the ball over,” Fraze said. “Second half, we did a much better job. I was glad the girls responded the way they did.”

Kambrey Blakey led Portales with 15 points, and also added five steals. Ruidoso actually had more double-figure scorers, as Lia Mosher had 13 and Jules Munez 11, but the Lady Warriors had only two other players score, compared with seven for Portales.

Also, many Portales players had solid all-around games, including Francis Armijo with five points, seven assists and six steals; and Sheraya Cox, with six points, six rebounds and four assists. McKenzie Bucksath had nine points and five rebounds for Portales.

District 4-3A

Portales 52, Ruidoso 31

Portales (20-4, 2-2) — Francis Armijo 1 1 5, Bailey Rowley 3 1-4 7, Sheraya Cox 2 2-2 6, Kambrey Blakey 5 1 3-3 15, Simone Laurenz 1 0-0 2, Savannah Vincent 4 0-0 8, McKenzie Bucksath 3 3-3 9, Totals 19 2 8-11 52.

Ruidoso (3-20, 0-4) — Jules Muniz 5 1-3 11, Ariel Aguilar 0 1-2 1, Lia Mosher 6 1-5 13, Darian Magooshboy 0 2 0-0 6, Totals 11 2 3-10 31.

Portales 11 8 17 16 — 52

Ruidoso 7 10 6 8 — 31

3-pointers — Portales, Armijo, Blakey. Ruidoso, Magooshboy 2. Junior varsity — Portales 57, Ruidoso 18.