LEVELLAND, Texas — A strong defensive effort in the second quarter propelled Portales to a 48-34 from over Hereford on Thursday in a first-round game in the Levelland girls basketball tournament.

Senior Gabby Garcia and junior Macy Mitchell led the Lady Rams (2-0) with 14 and 12 points, respectively.

Hereford dropped to 0-4.

Portales faces Levelland (7-2) in a championship semifinal game 6:30 p.m. (CST) Friday in the three-day tournament.

Portales outscored Hereford 9-4 in the second quarter to take a 23-14 halftime lead.

“We started to figure out some things about what they were running on offense,” Portales coach Clay Stout said. “The second and fourth quarters, it seemed like we got more into a rhythm.

“I had a nine-player rotation and we let everybody play. I thought our kids coming off the bench did a really good job and our starters did a good job. We’re working on trying to build depth and I feel we’re going to have that this year.”

Stout said he hoped the Lady Rams drew Levelland heading into the tournament.

“I feel like they are the best team we’ll face all season,” Stout said. “They have good kids on the perimeter who can shoot the ball and good post kids. They are so fundamentally sound. They can score from anywhere and run an inside-out attack on offense.”