Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
The Logan girls basketball team’s 29 turnovers proved fatal during a 60-42 loss Thursday to Tatum in the Class 1A semifinals at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho.
The third-seeded Lady Longhorns (24-7) fell behind by double digits before halftime and never held a lead except early in the first quarter. They narrowed a 19-point gap to three in the fourth quarter before the second-seeded Coyotes (27-4) counter-rallied to secure the victory and a berth to the finals.
“We didn’t handle the pressure well and had too many turnovers,” Logan coach Glynna Strand said. “We made a comeback in the second half and then started turning it over again.”
Harlie Roach led Logan with 12 points and three blocked shots. Jordan Hines added eight points and a game-high eight rebounds.
Tatum won two of three matchups against Logan this season. Logan won its Jan. 12 matchup 65-47 against the Coyotes. Tatum defeated the Lady Longhorns 48-23 in a Dec. 7 game.
Celeste Jimenez led Tatum with 20 points.
Tatum led 40-21 early in the third quarter after scoring off a steal — two of the 34 points the Coyotes scored off turnovers. The Lady Longhorns went on a 10-0 scoring run to finish the quarter. They kept it going in the fourth quarter with a 9-2 run, closing the gap to 42-39 with 5:49 left.
But the Coyotes finished with a 15-3 run, including 9-for-11 from the free-throw line when the Lady Longhorns were forced to foul. Logan’s chances were a comeback diminished when Roach fouled out with 2:53 left.
Logan loses four seniors from its squad: Roach, Makenna Brewer, Emily LeBlanc and Brook Robertson.
The Lady Longhorns soldiered on after losing one of its top scorers, Karli Webb, to a season-ending knee injury during a loss to Melrose on Jan. 24. After a loss to unranked Clayton in the next game, the Lady Longhorns won eight of nine.
“It was a hard season for us, as we were plagued with injuries. But I saw a lot of growth in our younger players, which will be good for next year,” Strand said. “The seniors did a good job leading and keeping everyone positive. Makenna and Harlie were the key players on the floor, with Harlie taking over and controlling important games.”
Logan 54, Quemado 52
Roach scored a game-high 26 points, including two game-clinching free throws with 3.7 seconds left, in Logan’s come-from-behind 54-52 win Wednesday over Quemado in the Class 1A girls basketball quarterfinals at Bernalillo High School.
Roach accounted for nearly half of the offense of the third-seeded Lady Longhorns, going 6-for-8 from behind the 3-point line and grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds.
Kassi Foote also scored nine points for Logan. Jordan Hines and Kyndall Ragland added eight.
Samantha Bryant scored 14 points to lead the sixth-seeded Eagles (21-9).
Roach made three 3-pointers to stake the Lady Longhorns to a 19-12 lead in the first quarter. Ragland scored three times late in the second quarter, including a buzzer-beating shot, to give Logan a 32-24 advantage at intermission.
The Eagles clawed back in the final period and took a 50-45 lead with four minutes left after scoring on two consecutive steals. Logan committed 25 turnovers in the game versus Quemado’s 11.
Hines scored inside with 1:12 left to tie the game 52-52.
Roach was fouled on a dribble near the halfcourt line with 3.7 seconds left. She made both shots. The Eagles tried to execute a long pass to a shooter in its halfcourt; Logan picked it off the end the game.