Lady Cats reach Mel Otero title clash

Staff report

RIO RANCHO — In a game that featured Division I signees on each side, it was Clovis’ Nichele Hyman who was the “x-factor,” according to Lady Wildcats coach Jeff Reed.

Hyman had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds and Texas A&M signee Danni Williams added 28 points as Clovis beat La Cueva 56-51 in Friday’s semifinals of the Mel Otero Invitational.

Shelby Jones added 14 points for Clovis in her first start of the season, including 12 in the second half, as she steadily increases playing time from a knee injury.

Stanford signee Alexa Romano led La Cueva (4-2) with 24 points, and Alyssa Yocky added 16.

“Danni and Alexa balanced each other out and so did the big girls, so Nichele gave us the third scorer they didn’t have,” Reed said.

The Lady Cats (6-1) face Las Cruces High, which edged Rio Rancho in Friday’s late semifinal, in today’s 7 p.m. championship game.

“We will be satisfied with nothing short of winning the tournament,” Reed said in response to his team’s goal this weekend. “We want to send a message out to the rest (of Class 6A).”

The point total was a season-high for the Lady Cats as teams have tried to slow the tempo of games.

“La Cueva came out and played with us,” Reed said. “We were able to get up and down the floor a little more and that gave us some more opportunities to score.”