Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Melrose junior Isabelle Sena applies defensive pressure after Fort Sumner junior Avery Cavett receives an inbounds pass during Saturday's Class 1A girls state championship game between District 6-1A rivals at The Pit in Albuquerque.
ALBUQUERQUE - It didn't take long to see it wasn't going to be Melrose's day in Saturday's Class 1A girls state championship.
After scoring on the first possession of the game, the Lady Buffs watched District 6-1A rival Fort Sumner rattle off 11 consecutive points and never look back in a 56-30 victory at The Pit.
Vixens junior Avery Cavett nailed two of her three 3-pointers and eight of her game-high 14 points during the early surge. No one else reached double figures for Fort Sumner (21-4), but four others finished with at least seven points.
Junior Isabelle Sena led Melrose with 12 points while sophomore Graci Odom finished with 10. It was the eighth state finals appearance in a row for the Lady Buffs (22-8), who captured titles in 2015, 2016 and 2020.
Melrose never got closer than seven points after the Vixens' early flurry, although the Lady Buffs were within 26-18 with about three minutes left in the half. At that point, Fort Sumner went on a half-ending 10-0 run with consecutive 3s by Cavett and senior Jordan Wilton and a buzzer-beating layup by senior Megan Oberg for an 18-point advantage.
That was the backbreaker, Lady Buffs coach Caleb King said.
"It's really hard, against a good defensive team, to come back," he said. "We were scrambling hard in the third quarter and kind of got worn down. We may have lost our legs a little."
Melrose, which had a quick turnaround from a 5:30 p.m. Friday game to Saturday's 10 a.m. tip, was unable to make a run in the second half. The Lady Buffs were simply off all day, hitting just 7-for-41 from the floor and 2-of-19 from 3-point range.
Meantime, the Vixens shot 39 percent overall and 6-of-12 from distance.
Oberg finished with eight points, eight rebounds and seven of the Vixens' 10 steals in the contest. Wilton had nine points and also grabbed eight caroms as the Vixens dominated the glass 42-29.
Senior Johanna Roybal notched nine rebounds and two steals for Melrose, while Sena collected three steals.
While the Lady Buffs graduate only Roybal this year, the Vixens will lose three starters to graduation in Abby Moyer, Wilton and Oberg.
