Lady Rams set to battle Sandia Prep in quarters

z PHS could see district

rival Lovington in semis

CMI staff

After escaping 14th-seeded Santa Fe Indian in the round-of-16, the Portales Lady Rams figure to get another stiff test today when they meet sixth-seeded Sandia Prep in an 11:30 a.m. Class 3A girls state quarterfinals at The Pit in Albuquerque.

link Kevin Wilson: Clovis Media Inc.

Portales sophomore Kambrey Blakey, trying to keep possession from a Santa Fe Indian School defender in Friday’s 63-60 state Class 3A round-of-16 win at the RAC, carries a 16 ppg scoring average into this week’s state tournament.

Both teams struggled at home with lower seeds on Friday, the Lady Rams (22-5) edging SFIS 63-60 while the Sundevils overcame a one-point halftime deficit to down No. 11 Raton 60-55.

“They’re similar to us in a lot of ways, but they’re very big,” Lady Rams coach Wade Fraze said. “They have some good shooters, and a really good point guard (in 5-foot-7 junior Kalei Yepa).”

Yepa leads the Sundevils (19-9) in scoring at 12.7 ppg, and also averages just over one steal per contest.

“We’re going to have to rebound against their size,” Fraze said. “And we need to negate Yepa as best we can.”

Many of the players were on the squad when PHS lost to District 4-3A rival Lovington 33-26 in last year’s state semifinal round. If both win their games today — Lovington (23-4), seeded second, faces St. Michael’s at 8 a.m. — they would meet again in an 8 a.m. semifinal on Thursday.

The Lady Wildcats, two-time defending 3A champions, have dealt PHS three of their losses in four meetings this season.

“That’s what we want,” Fraze said. “We want another shot at Lovington. I truly believe they’re a better team this year than either one of their state championship teams.”

PHS CAPSULE

(Seeds in parentheses)

(6) Sandia Prep vs. (3) Portales

When: 11:30 a.m. today at The Pit, Albuquerque

What: Class 3A girls state tournament quarterfinal game

Records: Sandia Prep 19-9, Portales 22-5

Radio: KSEL-FM 105.9.

Winner: Advances to an 11:30 a.m. semifinal game on Thursday at The Pit against either No. 2 Lovington or No. 7 St. Michael’s.

Of note: Sophomore F Kambrey Blakey averages around 16 ppg and six rpg for the Lady Rams, while sophomore G Sheraya Cox scores around 10 ppg. The team’s leading rebounder is senior P Savannah Vincent (7 rpg).

— Compiled by Dave Wagner