Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

WEDNESDAY PREPS: Lady Buffs hold off Fort Sumner; boys fall 73-48

MELROSE – Melrose’s girls are primed for another state tournament run in Class 1A. This time, the top-ranked Lady Buffs are determined to finish the deal.

They were tested quite severely by District 6-1A rival Fort Sumner on Wednesday night, but in the end made enough plays to nail down a 49-41 victory in a makeup of last week’s postponement.

In the boys’ contest, Fort Sumner, also sporting a No. 1 ranking in 1A, pulled away to a 73-48 win.

With senior standout Isabelle Sena having a rough night (five points, one field goal), junior Graci Odom and others were able to pick up the slack for the Melrose girls. Odom finished with 18 points, while senior Sorrell Allen and junior Karlee Elliott added nine apiece.

“It was a tough game,” Odom said. “We both got after each other.”

Melrose has finished second in 1A in each of the past two seasons, including a 56-30 loss to the Vixens in last year’s state final. The Lady Buffs (22-1, 5-0) have won 16 in a row since their only setback against defending Class 4A champion and top-ranked Kirtland Central in a tournament at Moriarty in December.

“We’ve just got to keep pushing and working on the little things,” Odom said.

As close as it was most of the way, it wasn’t nearly as tight as the Lady Buffs’ last-second 53-52 win at Fort Sumner in mid-January, a game in which the Vixens (15-8, 3-3) led much of the way.

“They’re a top-5 team in (1A),” Melrose girls coach Kevin Lackey said. “They do a lot of good things.

“Isabelle was struggling shooting the ball, but we had others contributing.”

Senior Olivia Lucero got into early foul trouble, but still led Fort Sumner in scoring with 10 points. Sophomore Allyssa Casaus added nine.

Meantime, Fort Sumner’s boys showed why they’re probably co-favorites in 1A this season with defending champion Magdalena. The Foxes (23-2, 5-0) suffered their only losses to the Steers (43-39) and to Class 5A Los Lunas (64-56), and have now won 15 in a row.

Melrose may very well be the third-best team in 1A, but anybody will have its work cut out trying to take down either of the top two.

“I’ve said since the very beginning that (Nos.) 1 and 2 were Mag and Fort,” first-year Buffs coach Drew Hatley said. “I think there are three to seven teams in that next tier.

“Give them credit; they’ve beaten a lot of good teams. To be able to beat them, you’re going to have to play extremely well.”

Fort Sumner connected on nine 3s in the game and put four players in double figures, led by senior Clay Norman with three trifectas and 17 points.

An 11-0 run staked Fort Sumner to a 15-4 lead, but Melrose (18-5, 5-2) used an 11-0 surge of its own to tie it early in the second stanza. A 3-pointer by eighth-grader Jordan Holland put the Foxes back in front, and they went on to build a 37-24 halftime cushion.

“I’m proud of our effort,” Hatley said. “I think we actually played a little better than we did last time (a 63-53 setback at Fort Sumner). We don’t have the ability to shoot the way they do.”

Sophomores Cy Draper and Josiah Roybal tallied 13 and 11 points, respectively, for the Buffs, who had won six in a row since the loss at Fort Sumner.

It was the first home setback of the season for the Buffs (11-1), while the Lady Buffs improved to 8-0 in their bailiwick.

In other area makeups on Wednesday:

Texico 49, Santa Rosa 46, 2 OTs (girls) – At Texico, the District 6-2A-leading Lady Wolverines (11-13, 4-1) lost three players to fouls, but pulled out the win by outscoring the Lady Lions 7-4 in the second extra session.

Senior Catelyn Breshears notched 15 points for Texico, while seniors Daelyn Pacheco and Tristin Trujillo netted 13 points each and senior Bella Poison added 12 for the Lady Lions (17-8, 2-3).

Texico 64, Santa Rosa 62 (boys) – Junior Cade Figg intercepted an inbounds baseball pass in the closing seconds to seal the District 6-2A win for the Wolverines (14-10, 3-2).

Figg and senior Jahvon Askew scored 13 points each for Texico, while sophomores Taye Smith and Alex Fuentes added 11 and 10, respectively, and senior Ayden Carey scored nine.

Santa Rosa (18-7, 2-3), losing for just the second time in nine road outings, erased most of a 23-10 first-quarter deficit but could never quite catch the Wolverines. The Lions also put four men in double digits, with senior Andres Madrid and junior A.J. Romo scoring 13 each and senior Jeremiah Huerta and freshman Josh Cordova chipping in 11 apiece.

Clovis Christian 67, Grady 48 (boys) – The Eagles hit 3-pointers on four consecutive possessions in the second quarter to break open a one-point game in District 6-1A at Grady.

Seniors Carter Teune and Noah Gershon collected 22 and 20 points, respectively for CCS (16-8, 3-4), while junior Zane Rush netted 21 points and sophomore Deakin Ragland 12 for the Bronchos (7-13, 0-6).

 
 
Rendered 03/15/2024 06:06