Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Clovis guard Hayley Kidd stumbles after a steal attempt by Trinity Christian's Lauren Catnerman in the first half of Saturday's game at Rock Staubus Gymnasium. Catnerman was called for a foul on the play.
Clovis coach Jeff Reed grimaces after a missed layup in the third quarter of Saturday's game against Trinity Christian.
CLOVIS — The Clovis High's girls basketball team kept pace from the field with strong-shooting Lubbock Trinity Christian on Saturday at Rock Staubus Gym.
The free-throw line, though, was another story.
The Lady Lions buried 17 of 18 foul shots overall while the Lady Wildcats struggled to stay above 50 percent, and Trinity Christian escaped with a 66-59 victory.
The game was added when Clovis' Friday contest at Artesia and the Lady Lions' matchup against Clayton, scheduled for Saturday in the Portales Shoot Out, were canceled.
Senior guard Ashton Duncan and senior forward Cara Cowan combined to do most of Trinity Christian's damage, finishing with 30 and 20 points, respectively. They also combined for 10-for-10 from the foul line in the final 1:22.
"They're my two seniors," said Trinity Christian coach and 2000 CHS graduate Amanda (Swann) Bullen, whose team beat Portales 56-49 on Friday. "With my point guard (junior Abby Miller) sick, it puts more pressure on them."
Miller did not return for the second half after taking ill at halftime, Bullen said.
Bullen said three varsity subs were sent to a junior varsity tournament this weekend, leaving the Lady Lions with an extremely short bench. Despite having just seven players available and coming in on short rest, she said she wasn't that happy with how her squad played.
"It was not a good game for us," Bullen said. "We were fatigued today. We were just fortunate (the Lady Cats) didn't start hitting their shots until late."
Both teams finished with 20 field goals, including nine 3s for Trinity — five by Duncan and four by Cowan — and eight for Clovis. Junior guard Teya Morris, who matched her career high of 29 points set in the Plateau Holiday Classic against Highland on Dec. 28, went 8-for-11 from the foul line, but the rest of the team was 3-for-9.
Junior guard Hayley Kidd finished with 11 points and had three of the Lady Cats' 3-point baskets.
CHS coach Jeff Reed said his team's downfall also included paint scoring, noting the Lady Cats converted just 5-of-19 opportunities from the lane in the second half.
"They gave us tons of (scoring) opportunities," CHS coach Jeff Reed said. "But they're a very hard team to stop."
Clovis led just once, at 6-5 on Morris' rebound basket midway through the first quarter. The Lady Cats tied it 12-12 on a Kidd 3-pointer early in the second stanza, but a 13-3 run that included 3-pointers by Duncan and Cowan opened a 10-point margin late in the half.
Every time the Lady Lions tried to pull away, Clovis managed to come back and keep it close. Back-to-back 3s by sophomore reserve Brittni Chavez pulled the Lady Cats to 54-50 with 2 1/2 minutes left before Trinity used the foul line to salt it away.
