Lady Rams eliminated by Gallup in 4A semis

SANTA ROSA — Portales High girls coach Wade Fraze said any of about six teams could’ve been seeded No. 1 in this year’s Class 4A state tournament.

Gallup, which was given the fourth seed, certainly looked like a candidate on Thursday.

Junior post Hailey Long scored 24 points to lead three Lady Bengals in double figures, and Gallup rode a fast start to a 77-63 win over top-seeded PHS in a 4A semifinal matchup played at Santa Rosa H.S.

The Lady Bengals (14-1) won the championship on Saturday morning with a 63-51 victory over second-seeded Espanola Valley at The Pit In Albuquerque.

Gallup opened a 17-8 lead at the quarter and was able to keep the Lady Rams (10-2) at bay most of the rest of the way, although Portales did trim a 16-point, second-quarter deficit to four early in the fourth.

“We were not ourselves in the first quarter — at all,” Fraze said. “We were turning the ball over and just getting in a hurry.”

PHS committed an uncharacteristic 25 mechanical errors, including 16 in the first half.

“Against a team that good, it’s hard to come back from that,” Fraze said. “If we had started off better, it might’ve been a different story. But I couldn’t be prouder of these girls.”

Junior Michaela McCurtain added 20 points and junior Jordan Joe chipped in 14 for Gallup.

For the Lady Rams, junior posts Kylyie Paden had team bests of 21 points and seven rebounds, while junior guard Teagan Faust added a personal-best 17 points and a team-high give rebounds and junior guard Taris Rippee tallied 16. Despite being the No. 1 seed, PHS played both of its tourney games on neutral courts.

Both teams shot well from the foul line, but Gallup got there more often. The Lady Bengals finished 24-of-28, with McCurtain going 9-of-11 and Long 8-of-9, while Portales converted on 12-of-15 attempts.

Portales 63, Silver 41 (Tuesday, quarterfinals) — The Lady Rams opened a 19-5 lead at the quarter and cruised to a first-round win over the Lady Colts in a game played at Ruidoso H.S.

Paden led four players in double digits for Portales with 16 points, and she also grabbed seven rebounds. Meantime, senior forward Kinzie Davis put in a season-best 13 points to go with six rebounds, while senior guard Mattison Blakey and junior guard Riley Shillings each converted a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Meantime, Rippee had eight assists for Portales.

Silver (9-4) made a bit of a run early in the second stanza, closing to within three at one point. Portales built the lead back to 14 by halftime, though, and held the Lady Colts to just 17 second-half tallies.

“I tell the girls, ‘Every team is in the playoffs for a reason,’” Fraze said. “That’s the way we approach it.

“We didn’t start off well (in the second quarter). The second half was more consistent for us.”

Silver, the District 3-4A champion, got 21 points from senior Aryana Gomez, with 14 coming in the second quarter.

“She’s a really great player,” Fraze said. “The kids really defended her well in the second half.”