Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
PORTALES – Neither Portales High nor Lovington went to the bench much in Friday's District 4-4A matchup at the Ram Athletic Center, for different reasons.
Lovington mainly used with six players by choice. Meantime, earlier season-ending injuries to seniors Alivia Gonzales and Cyria Aguirre and an injury on Tuesday to sophomore guard Angel Ornelas left the Lady Rams with just seven fulltime varsity players.
In the end, the Wildcats erased an eight-point halftime deficit with a 24-point eruption in the third quarter – featuring 10 points each from junior guard Elizabeth Buendia and freshman guard Malaiya Castro – and rode that to a 50-43 win over Portales.
Lovington (13-12, 3-3 district) claimed the No. 2 seed in this week's district tournament while relegating the Lady Rams (12-13, 2-4) to third place. Portales will host Roswell Goddard in a 6 p.m. first-round matchup on Tuesday.
Lovington, which had only five field goals in the opening half, made nine in the third period alone, including two 3-pointers by Buendia and another by Castro.
"We couldn't make any shots in the first half, but we had a good start to the third quarter and that gave us a little momentum," Lady Wildcats coach Chief Bridgforth said.
Lovington led 12-8 early in the second stanza, but managed only two free throws the rest of the half as PHS stormed to a 22-14 advantage.
Things changed quickly when play resumed as the Lady Wildcats netted the first seven points. A basket by junior guard Audrey Paden sent the Lady Rams back in front, but on the next possession Castro drained a long 3-pointer.
Portales tied it briefly later in the period, but was outscored 8-1 over the final three minutes of the frame as the Lady Wildcats assumed control.
"The story is they kicked our tails in the third quarter and made us like it," Lady Rams coach Wade Fraze. "It's probably the worst beatdown in a quarter I've ever had as a coach."
Buendia went 6-for-6 from the foul line and finished with 20 points for Lovington. Castro added 14 while her older sister, Myra, had 10 points.
Sophomore guard Myleigh Banda (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Paden (10 and 10) each had double-doubles for the Lady Rams. Paden also had five steals.
Artesia 47, Portales 35 (Tuesday) – The Lady Rams hung around for a half, trailing 19-17, but were outscored 16-9 in the third stanza as district regular-season champ Artesia (17-8, 6-0) took control.
Six-foot junior post Lorin Wagner and sisters Koda and Kymber Beltran combined for all but nine of the Lady Bulldogs' points, with Koda Beltran scoring 15, Wagner 13 and Kymber Beltran 10. The Beltrans combined for five 3-point baskets.
"We couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from the floor or the free throw line (6-for-18)," Fraze said. "Rebounding (36-27 in favor of Artesia) and defensive lapses were our undoing."
PHS led 17-14 before the Lady Bulldogs scored the final five points of the half for a lead they wouldn't relinquish. The Lady Rams fell behind by 19 points early in the fourth quarter but cut it to seven before Artesia closed it out.
Banda scored 14 points for Portales. Sophomore forward Evannie Fulfer had a team-high 10 rebounds and also collected three steals.