Lady Rattlers have a lot of returning talent

Opponents probably won't be taken by surprise by the Tucumcari girls basketball team this year.

About a year ago, a young and mostly inexperienced Lady Rattlers team knocked off several state-ranked teams, mostly due to its tenacious defense.

Tucumcari went 13-11, won their district tournament and qualified for the Class 3A tourney.

This season, Tucumcari returns five players who were starters or saw a lot of floor time. And this time, the Lady Rattlers have more depth.

"We're trying to change a few things, now that we're a little bit older," second-year coach Patrick Benavidez said. "We're going to be more aggressive, and we're going to be deeper from the bench. Foul trouble's not going to be as much as an issue.

"Hopefully, we can push it up and down the court and get some points like that. Last year, we sat back in a halfcourt defense, and some teams just picked us apart. Our girls would get winded."

Tucumcari opens its season at 5 p.m. Thursday against McCurdy at the three-day Lady Lion Classic at Santa Rosa. Its first home game will be against Texico on Dec. 6.

The Lady Rattlers return several key guards - senior Alexus Lafferty (a team-high 15.5 points per game), sophomore Caylee Benavidez (11.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game) and sophomore July Lafferty (6.6 points and a team-high 8.5 rebounds per game).

Also back are junior guard Haisley Huffman (3.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game) and freshman forward Kyla Lopez (4.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game).

Coach Benavidez said eighth-grader Cambree Benavidez - his second daughter on the squad - also will see some varsity floor time.

"Just her energy is going to help us, like she did in volleyball," he said.

Benavidez acknowledged his team has a tough schedule, with games against Portales, Robertson, Texico, Santa Rosa, Clayton and Logan.

But he said his players might be up to the task.

"We played a lot of basketball this summer," he said. "Already in practice, you can tell the difference in how well they work together and their team chemistry."

Tucumcari is undersized compared to many teams, but that's something to which the players are accustomed, Benavidez said.

"Our girls, they've had that challenge their whole basketball career," he said "They adjust to it and play team defense. These girls don't back down from a challenge. They're not going to get intimidated that the other team has size."

He said the addition of junior center Kirksey Smith, a transfer from San Jon who was a starting middle blocker on the volleyball team, will help on the inside.

"Having her inside along with Kyla is going to be good," he said. "And our depth is going to be good. We can rotate kids in and out and hopefully not miss a beat."

Ruidoso is a new addition to Tucumcari's district, along with the usual foes of Dexter and New Mexico Military Institute. Ruidoso was 10-14 last year.