Tucumcari girls suffer first loss of season

The Tucumcari girls basketball team made a few difficult shots but also missed a few easy ones, and that proved crucial during its first loss of the season, 50-48, on Thursday to Class 2A-ranked Texico.

Ashley Shipley led the Lady Rattlers, ranked No. 1 in Class 3A by MaxPreps.com, with 17 points, and Jasmine Jones added 12 as they fell to 5-1 overall.

Texico, ranked third in Class 2A, improved to 7-2 overall, with both of its losses to a Farwell team ranked in the top 10 in Texas Class 2A.

Shipley hit two buzzer-beating 3-point shots, including one before intermission from the half-court line. But Tucumcari coach Gary Hittson lamented his team's missed shots that should have been easy - ones from right under the basket.

"We had too many missed opportunities," he said. "I don't know how many layups we missed, but it was quite a few."

Baylee Sours led the Wolverines with 20 points, including several free throws in the fourth quarter to keep Tucumcari's comeback bid at bay. Teammate Ashley Hill added 17 points.

The Wolverines raced to an 8-4 lead to open the game on several fastbreak opportunities. The Lady Rattlers rallied in the second quarter to take a brief 21-18 lead.

After that, Texico used a patient halfcourt offense to set up good shots, run the clock and limit Tucumcari's opportunities on offense.

"I thought we did what we needed to do to be successful," Texico coach Richard Lunscombe said. "We talk about having patience offensively. We try to install that, break the defense down and get a good shot out of it."

The Lady Rattlers appeared to be heading into the locker room at halftime, trailing 27-26. But Shipley heaved a 40-footer from near the halfcourt line at the buzzer that found nothing but net for a 3-pointer and a 29-26 Tucumcari lead.

Tucumcari took its biggest lead of the game, 33-27, midway through the third quarter. But the Wolverines took advantage of a Lady Rattlers dry spell and grabbed a 39-35 lead by the end of the period.

"We turned the ball over with bad passes ... things we're not used to doing," Hittson said. "I don't know if the girls felt pressure about this game or what. I told them: 'This is just another regular-season game; it's not a district game or a state playoff game. This is a team we don't have to worry about. They're in 2A; we're in 3A.'"

Tucumcari's defense held Texico for no field goals for the first four minutes of the fourth quarter. However, Texico also played stout defense, and the Lady Rattlers managed just four points during that time.

In the last two minutes, the Wolverines primarily played keep-away on offense and forced the Lady Rattlers to foul. Sours made enough free throws to fatten Texico's lead to 50-43 with less than a minute remaining.

Shipley scored twice on driving layups and hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer during the final 25 seconds, but it wasn't enough.