Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
STAFF REPORT
If everything goes chalk, Roosevelt County will be two times a champion in girls basketball in two weeks.
Top seeds were doled out to Portales, which won the Class 3A title in 2014 and finished second in Class 4A last year, and Elida, which is looking for its second-straight Class 1A title and sixth-straight small-school crown.
Playoff seedings were announced Sunday by the New Mexico Activities Association. Host sites include Bernalillo, Cleveland and Rio Rancho high schools, the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho and The Pit in Albuquerque. The Pit will host all 12 championship games, starting at 11:30 a.m. Friday with Class 1A girls and finishing with the 8 p.m. Saturday Class 6A boys title game.
Portales (22-3), winners of 11 straight, will host Wingate Friday night at the Ram Athletic Center. A win would put the Rams in a March 8 quarterfinal at The Pit. They would stay there as long as they win, including the March 10 semifinal and the 3:30 p.m. March 11 title game.
Elida (22-3) brings a six-game streak into its Friday night first-round game against Coronado after beating Grady 45-38 to claim the District 4-1A title. The district got four teams into the tournament, with Grady taking the second seed, Mosquero No. 9 and Floyd No. 12 (at No. 5 Quemado). Mosquero and Elida could meet in the quarterfinals, scheduled for March 8 at Bernalillo High School. Class 1A semifinals are March 10, also at Bernalillo.
In Class 2A, Dora is the No. 6 seed and will host Fort Sumner. Defending champion Melrose is seeded seventh and will host Mesa Vista. The title game is set for 5:30 p.m. March 11 at The Pit.
In boys action, the Portales Rams are the No. 7 seed in the Class 4A boys tournament, and will host Kirtland Central. The Rams, 19-7 on the year, are District 4-4A's only representative. Defending champ Hope Christian (25-2) is the top seed. Quarterfinals are March 9 at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, and The Pit hosts the March 11 semifinals and noon March 12 title game.
The good news in Class 2A is three schools from Roosevelt, Curry and De Baca counties are in the boys state tournament. The bad news is that only one can reach the semifinals. Top-seeded Melrose will host Cloudcroft Saturday for the right to face either No. 8 Fort Sumner or No. 9 Dora in the March 9 quarterfinals at the Santa Ana Star Center. Logan is the 11th seed and will visit Mesa Vista. The semifinals are March 10, also at Santa Ana, and the title game is 6 p.m. March 12 at The Pit.
The Floyd boys go into the Class 1A state tournament as the No. 13 seed, and will visit Maxwell Saturday. Cliff, at 18-6 is the top seed. District 4-1A champ Grady is the No. 6 seed and will host Cimarron. Bernalillo High School will host the March 9 quarterfinals and March 10 semifinals, and The Pit will host the 8 a.m. March 12 title game.
