Lady Cats bail out opener in overtime

CLOVIS — Zarai Lewis carried the load most of the way, but in overtime it was senior post Shalanda Lefevre who stepped up.

Lefevre scored five points in the extra session, including a three-point play, and Clovis High’s girls outscored Rio Rancho Cleveland 6-0 to nail down a 62-56 victory at Rock Staubus Gym in Tuesday’s season opener for both teams.

Lewis, a junior guard, led all scorers with 22 points for the Lady Wildcats, while Lefevre finished with a personal-best 14 and junior forward Kailyn Jefferson chipped in 12.

CHS coach Jeff Reed said his team still has plenty of work to do, but he was happy to get the win.

“We made a lot of mistakes,” he said. “We weren’t in game shape, and I think that was part of the problem. But I’m proud of the girls for finding a way to win.”

Clovis led much of the way, building a 19-12 lead at the quarter, but had a hard time closing it out. The Storm erased a six-point deficit with 18 fourth-quarter tallies, forcing overtime with seven seconds left on two free throws by freshman Savannah Madueno.

But they never scored again.

The Storm stayed in the contest with the help of seven 3-pointers, including five by junior guard Kindyll Sandoval, who finished with 17 points.

“I’ll give credit to Cleveland,” Reed said. “They didn’t lay down and they shot lights out.”

Reed said neither team will receive style points for the contest.

“It was an ugly game, but I’ll take an ugly win over a pretty loss anytime,” he said.

Clovis managed only one 3-pointer in the contest, but shot 19-for-31 from the free throw line compared with 11-of-21 for the Storm. Lefevre paced the Lady Cats on the boards with nine rebounds, while Jefferson grabbed six.

Clovis was slated to play at Valencia on Saturday afternoon. This week, the Lady Cats visit Roswell Goddard on Tuesday night before entertaining Dexter on Friday.