Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Both teams lost last week's games.
Tucumcari Rattlers Zedric Henderson Greene defends against Texico's Lance Myers during their 76-52 loss Feb. 11 at the Snake Pit.
The Tucumcari Rattlers will need to be aggressive on offense and win the battle underneath the goal against Santa Rosa's bigger players, said Head Coach John Span.
Span said the Rattlers (8-13, 1-3) have to go in strong for the score and if possible, draw the foul Saturday against the Lions (16-6, 4-1) at the Snake Pit. He said the Rattlers will need to do a better job of limiting turnovers.
Last week, the Rattlers dropped a pair of District 5-3A games to the Clayton Yellowjackets on Feb. 9 and Texico Wolverines on Feb. 10.
Against the Wolverines (17-6, 3-1), the Rattlers l6-point lull in the second period resulted in a 24-point deficit at half-time.
Span said the Rattlers need to get past Saturday's loss and work to prepare for the Lions and the start of the district tournament.
Game time: 5 p.m. Saturday at the Snake Pit.
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The Tucumcari Lady Rattlers have to get past last weekend's loss and focus on their next game against the Santa Rosa Lady Lions, said Head Coach Gary Hittson.
Hittson said Saturday's District 5-3A game against the Lady Lions (10-13, 1-4) at the Snake Pit is their last game before the district tournament. He said the Lady Rattlers will have to overcome the hard 66-60 loss to the Texico Lady Wolverines (18-6, 5-0) on Feb. 11.
"We had that game, and we let it slip away from us," said Kaycee Lease, Lady Rattlers point guard.
Lease said mental mistakes led to costly turnovers and resulted in the Lady Rattlers (17-6, 3-2) trying to overcome a Lady Wolverines' lead taken in the second half.
"I am proud of how we played," Lease said. "We will see them again (Lady Wolverines), and we will be playing with vengeance. For right now, we know that we have to get past the loss and focus on the team in front of us."
Lease said the Lady Rattlers are not going to take the previous wins over the Lady Lions as a prediction of another win. She said the team is going to play with their heart and intensity.
Game time: 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Snake Pit.
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The Logan Lady Longhorns have to win against the Dora Lady Coyotes to stay in contention with Fort Sumner/House for first place in the District 6-2A standings.
The Lady Longhorns (19-4, 4-1) will hope to have all of their players healthy against the Lady Coyotes (15-9, 2-2) Thursday at Dora, said Rhyan Daugherty, Logan head coach.
"I'm not trying to make any excuses but against the Vixens, the Lady Longhorns were without two of their starters," Daugherty said.
Daugherty said McKenna Stone and Ashlon Snipes were not at 100 percent during the Feb. 11 53-48 loss to the Vixens at Fort Sumner. He said not taking anything away from the Vixens but being down two starting guards is brutal in such a tough conference.
"We had too many turnovers against the Vixens, and we were not aggressive enough on defense," Daugherty said.
Daugherty said the Lady Longhorns are full aware that they need to take care of business against Dora on Thursday. He said the girls are not looking past anyone.
"We've got first-hand knowledge that ranking or seeding can mean nothing in the long run," Daugherty said.
During the 2016 2A state basketball tournament championship, one-seed Lady Longhorns lost 48-78 to seven-seed Melrose.
"It's nice to be in the top eight in the state seeding to get a home playoff game," Daugherty said. "The Lady Longhorns know that they need be ready for every game they play."
Daugherty said with a win against Dora, there is a possibility of the Lady Longhorn playing Fort Sumner/House six times this year. He said the team could play them for a play off game again in district tournament, and "we may see them again in state."
Game time: 5 p.m. Thursday at Dora.
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The Logan Longhorns will close out District 6-2A play and the regular season with a game against the Coyotes at Dora.
Thursday's game against the Coyotes (18-6, 3-1) will be a tough match up for the Longhorns (7-15, 1-4) said Randy Robertson, Logan's head coach.
The Longhorns lost 70-43 on Feb. 11 against the first place Foxes (19-3, 4-0) at Fort Sumner.
Game time: 7 p.m. Thursday at Dora
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The San Jon Coyotes (9-7, 5-3) have a District 4-1A game Thursday against the (10-14, 4-5) Bronchos at Grady.
Game time: 7 p.m. Thursday at Grady
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The San Jon Lady Coyotes (0-7, 0-7) have a District 4-1A game Thursday against the (11-3, 5-4) Lady Bronchos at Grady.
Game time: 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Grady
