Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Staff report
ROSWELL — Sophomore guard Teya Morris helped Clovis High’s girls get off to a good start on Tuesday at Roswell High, but the Lady Wildcats weren’t able to sustain the pace.
Morris knocked down a trio of 3-pointers in the first quarter as the Lady Cats took a 13-12 lead. But they went stone cold in the second period and never recovered in losing to the Lady Coyotes 46-31.
Morris (16) and fellow sophomore Mimi Coleman (14) combined for all but one of Clovis’ points. Morris finished the night with four 3-point baskets.
Roswell High (12-2) outscored the Lady Cats 11-2 in the second period for an eight-point advantage and was never threatened the rest of the way.
“We could never get back into it after that,” CHS coach Jeff Reed said of his team’s second-quarter drought. “(But) I was glad we didn’t just get blown out. It was nice to be able to compete, at least for a little while.”
The lack of production from the rest of the team was concerning to Reed.
“By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, we were down by 14 and it makes it pretty tough,” he said.
The Lady Coyotes didn’t exactly shoot the lights out themselves. While Clovis finished 1-for-3 from the free throw line, Roswell High converted only six of its 15 opportunities from the line.
Junior guard Jaedyn De La Cerda (19 points) and senior forward Gali Sanchez (15) combined for most of the scoring, but other than that the team had limited production.
“We played hard,” Reed said. “We had our (good) moments, but there were times where we had lapses on defense, and we didn’t block out (on the boards).”
He said the Lady Cats had ample opportunity to score during the second period, but just couldn’t convert their chances.
“I would say we probably missed eight or 10 shots in the paint (in that quarter),” he said. “And we just had too many turnovers.”
Sanchez did most of her damage in the third period with 10 points, helping Roswell High post a 15-9 scoring advantage in the frame.
The Lady Cats are back in action on Friday with a 7 p.m. game at Rio Rancho Cleveland.
Next week will be a busy one at home for Clovis. The Lady Cats face rival Portales in a 7 p.m. start on Tuesday at Rock Staubus Gym, then host Lovington on Friday night and a rematch with Roswell High on Saturday night in their final games before the start of District 4-6A play.
