Tucumcari girls take district title

Hot shooting in the first quarter catapulted the Tucumcari girls basketball team to the district tournament title in a 53-44 win Friday at Tularosa.

The Lady Rattlers (18-10) shocked the Wildcats (21-5) with a 27-6 first quarter, then held on the rest of the way.

"The first quarter, we could not miss," Tucumcari coach Gary Hittson said. "We hit five threes in the first.

"This was a great team effort," he added. "The girls were having fun out on the floor."

Hittson praised his team's resiliency in a high-pressure clash on the road.

"We played really good defense through out the game," he said. "They would make a run at us, and the defense would step up and get a stop or get a steal. Our offense got us points when we need them."

Ashley Shipley scored 27 points to lead the Lady Rattlers. Jasmine Jones added 16.

It was Tucumcari's fourth game against Tularosa in February and its fifth this season. The Lady Rattlers hold a 3-2 edge in the series. Tucumcari and Tularosa each finished 3-1 in regular-season district play, but the Wildcats prevailed in a tiebreaker Feb. 24 on a neutral court at Dexter.

An apparent Tularosa fan parked his car in front of Tucumcari's team bus, keeping it from departing for several minutes after the game. Part of the brief incident was captured on video and posted online by Brandon Goldston, father of one of Tucumcari's starting players, Reece Goldston.

Goldston stated in a text message one of the young male observers yelled "The bus has reverse" until the car's driver moved the vehicle. Goldston said he wasn't sure how long the bus was blocked.

Brenda Vigil, superintendent at Tularosa schools, emailed the Quay County Sun a statement after a link to the video was emailed to her Friday night.

"Thank you for bringing this behavior to our attention," Vigil wrote. "We do not condone this type of behavior from either our students or our fans. I do want to assure you that appropriate action will be taken, and I sincerely apologize for this behavior.

"I also want to congratulate the Tucumcari Girls' Basketball Team on their victory. We are sorry that that victory was tainted by the behavior of our students."

Vigil also sent her response to Tucumcari superintendent Aaron McKinney and two New Mexico Activities Association officials.

Tucumcari 66, Dexter 31

The Lady Rattlers bombed Dexter with 10 3-point shots during a 66-31 victory in the semifinal Wednesday of the district tournament at the Snake Pit.

The outcome never was in doubt. Tucumcari grabbed a double-digit lead in the first quarter and led by 25 points at intermission. Dexter (16-11) made just two field goals in the first half.

"If we can shoot the ball and rebound like that, we'll be all right," Hittson said of his team's performance.

Shipley scored 31 points to lead Tucumcari. Reece Goldston added 23 points with seven 3-point shots. Goldston totaled 42 points in her last two games.

Hittson welcomed Goldston's scoring surge, especially after learning senior power forward Aaliyah Brown is out for the season with a possibly torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in one of her knees suffered during the a game the previous week.

"I'm glad she decided to get hot right about now," Hittson said of Goldston. "This when we need her to get hot."

Tucumcari made six 3-pointers in the third period, fattening its lead to 40 at one point and activating the running-clock mercy rule.

The Lady Rattlers' average margin of victory over the Demons was 33 points during their three victories this season.

Dexter coach Arthur Cobos said injuries have hampered his team lately, including one the kept starter Nayeli Cobos out of the lineup Wednesday.