Lady Rattlers defeat Dexter

The Tucumcari girls basketball team crushed district foe Dexter 79-22 in a game Feb. 12 that saw eight Lady Rattler players score.

Ashley Shipley scored 24 points to lead Tucumcari, while teammates Kalani French added 20 and Aliyah Herrera 10.

The Lady Rattlers led 31-5 after the first quarter and 59-12 at halftime.

“We started off slow, if you can believe that,” Tucumcari coach Gary Hittson said. “We did not score for the first two minutes.

“We got the press really going, and our halfcourt defense was clicking. We ran the floor really well, also … got many easy baskets.”

Because Tucumcari seized control of the game early, it enabled Hittson to give his second-string players a lot of court time.

“This will help us down the road,” he said.

Tucumcari, ranked third in Class 3A by MaxPreps.com, improved to 18-4 overall and 2-0 in District 4-3A. The Lady Rattlers, after playing Dexter at home on Feb. 19, will play at Tularosa on Friday.

Dexter fell to 10-12, 0-2.