'Close win' for Lady Rattlers

The Tucumcari Lady Rattlers edged the Lady Longhorns 61-60 in overtime Friday night during the round-robin basketball tournament at Logan.

"I really can't say anything negative about the game," said Glenna Strand, Lady Longhorns head coach. "This was the first real challenge for the Lady Longhorns."

Strand said the Lady Longhorns knew the Lady Rattlers were going to be a challenge. She said the team got a chance to see where it needs to make improvements, and also got a chance to match up against a strong, talented team.

"It was a win, a very intense, close win," said Gary Hittson, Lady Rattlers head coach. "It was a lot closer than I would have liked it to been, or than it should have been."

Hittson said the Lady Rattlers were at times lost on defense, with lapses creating scoring opportunities for Logan.

"We have to do a better job of cutting off the drive to the basket," Hittson said. "While we need to be more aggressive on defense, we have to play smarter."

Hittson's comments concerned their starting shooting guard Ashley Shapely fouling out in the fourth period. The Lady Rattlers also lost guard Paige Morales in due to injury in the second half.

"Our bench players did a great job of stepping up when they were needed." Hittson said. "All of the girls played a great game tonight, they played with heart and never gave up, even we trailed earlier in the match up."

The Lady Rattlers offense was led by senior forward Kalani French, 24 points, who scored six of the seven overtime points for Tucumcari.

"We got lazy after we got ahead, that is something we can't afford to do," French said. "We missed way too many free throws and did not transition effectively from offense to defense."

The Lady Rattlers were 14 off 22 from the foul line, French said making half of those missed shots would have led to a much different outcome.

"We missed some easy layups, along with free throws that would have changed the entire game," said Kaylee Foote, Lady Longhorns post. "I want those last two (free throws) back."

Foote missed a pair of free throws in the final minute of regulation. However, Harlie Roach, who scored 13 points, made a 3-pointer and field goal in the last 30 seconds to force the overtime period.

The Lady Longhorns ended the night 15-of-23 from the line.

Foote, who led Logan with 24 points, said the team is still transitioning from volleyball conditioning. She said the team has not had as much time as other teams to practice and get into synch.

"We still played right along with a very talented Lady Rattlers squad," Foote said. "We can only look forward to learning from this loss and improving throughout the season."

Htittson said the Lady Rattlers will have to work on rebounding, they let Logan have too many second chance shots that led to points.

"We still have a way to go, but we are improving with every game," French said.