Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Portales High’s girls looked to be in deep trouble most of the way in Thursday’s District 4-4A tournament semifinal game against Lovington.
Lady Wildcats junior guard Aubrey Aranda hit a 3-pointer on Lovington’s first possession, and they never relinquished the lead in a 50-46 victory over the Lady Rams at the Ram Athletic Center.
Sophomore guard Malaiya Castro scored 12 points while Aranda and senior forward Erlin Salcido had 11 apiece. Lovington (17-12) traveled to top-seeded Artesia on Friday night in the finals and suffered a 51-46 setback.
“We just didn’t come to play in the first half,” Lady Rams coach Wade Fraze said. “For (the first) 14 minutes, we just did not play at all.”
Lovington opened a nine-point halftime lead, then extended that to 37-23 on a basket by 6-foot-5 sophomore Abigail Shouse with just over three minutes left in the third frame. PHS (19-8) rallied back, getting to 48-46 on two free throws by junior guard Angel Ornelas with 1:26 to go, but the Lady Wildcats finally put it away in the closing seconds when they beat Portales’ press and Salcido got to the basket for a clinching layup.
Ornelas finished with 14 points, including 12-of-15 from the free throw line, while junior forward Evannie Fulfer had 10. Junior guard Myleigh Banda led the team with seven rebounds, while sophomore center Skyler Massey was credited with nine steals.
The Lady Rams had four fewer field goals and four fewer 3s than Lovington, but made a game of it by shooting 21-of-29 from the foul line.
Portales, ranked fourth in 4A and one spot ahead of Artesia by MaxPreps heading into the week, still figures to get a pretty good seed when the pairings are released later today by the New Mexico Activities Association.
“I think so, but you never know,” Fraze said. “I told the girls whether they play at home or in a dirt patch, they’re going to have to come to play.”
