Lady Rams win tourney title

PORTALES - Portales High's girls were looking at a top-four seed for the upcoming Class 4A state tournament.

With a 58-45 win over Roswell Goddard in Friday's District 4-4A tournament championship game at the Ram Athletic Center, the Lady Rams sealed a No. 4 seed in the 16- team Class 4A state tournament, meaning they could have two home games before possibly traveling to The Pit in Albuquerque for the semifinals on March 10.

Senior post Kylyie Paden and senior guard Taris Rippee combined for 44 points for PHS (20-5), which reached the 20-win mark for the sixth time in coach Wade Fraze's nine-year tenure - and that includes a 10-2 mark in last spring's COVID-shortened campaign. Paden posted a personal-best 27 points to go with 10 rebounds, while Rippee added 17 points.

"For four years, our seniors have seen that team," Fraze said. "There never has been a game that hasn't been a real nail-biter."

This one was close until the Lady Rams went on an 11-3 run over the first four minutes of the final stanza, breaking open what was a four-point contest. Rippee accounted for seven of the tallies, while Paden had the other four.

Senior guard Teagan Faust added team highs of eight assists and three steals to go with five points.

"I knew they were going to come in strong and hard, but we were ready," Paden said. "I thought Teagan played a good game."

The Lady Rockets (15-12), seeded second in the four-team stepladder event, got off to a 5-0 lead before PHS even got the ball past midcourt, all coming from senior center Santana Espinosa in the first 21 seconds.

Two baskets by Rippee and one by Paden quickly put the Lady Rams in front, but senior Ambrosia Teasyatwho's basket just before the buzzer tied it for Godddard 15-15 in a relatively fast-paced opening segment.

PHS, though, went on an 8-0 run early in the second period and never relinquished the lead, although the Lady Rams' largest margin was seven points prior to the final period.

Fraze noted that Rippee was also solid all-around.

"She's a competitor," he said. "They (Lady Rockets) were in a zone (defense) tonight, but she's got an instinct for creating her own shot."

Goddard, which played without two starters due to ankle injuries, was led by three 3-pointers and 17 poits from senior guard Alexis Teasyatwho and 12 points from Teasyatwho.

"We played hard," Goddard coach Chris Roybal said, whose team earned the No. 10 seed in the 16-team state field. "When you play a team like Portales, you've got to be near-perfect because they don't make too many mistakes."

Paden said her team will take advantage of some extra time to get ready for their 6 p.m. first-round game on Friday against Los Alamos at the RAC.

"We have a whole week to prepare," she said. "We just want to focus on our next opponent."