Lady Longhorns prevail over rival Lady Rattlers

A tough loss the previous night to Santa Rosa built the foundation for the Logan girls basketball team gutting out a 44-35 non-district victory last week over area rival Tucumcari.

First-year coach Dustin Robertson gave his team a challenge before it took the floor at the Snake Pit.

"Last night, we weren't very poised. We just let (Santa Rosa's) press eat us up," he said. "We talked about bringing toughness tonight, and I thought they did that. Everybody on the floor showed more poise."

Lady Longhorns freshman guard Desta Rose scored a game-high 17 points, including going 5-for-6 from the free throw line. Logan improved to 8-3.

The Lady Rattlers (6-2) at times couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with their shots and trailed the Lady Longhorns by as much as 13 in the first half.

"We just couldn't get the ball in the basket," Tucumcari coach Patrick Benavidez said. "It was one of the ugliest games we've played all year, but we still gave ourselves a chance in the fourth quarter.

"We knew it was going to be tough. Logan has some good guards, and they just outplayed us today. You have to give them credit."

Senior guard Alexus Lafferty scored 13 points to lead Tucumcari.

Robertson said his team's work on the defensive boards was key to the victory.

"They didn't shoot well, obviously, but getting those rebounds and not giving them second opportunities was huge," he said.

Benavidez didn't dwell on it much during the post-game interview, but he acknowledged a lack of practice almost certainly hurt his team.

He missed a game the previous week due to illness, and two of his daughters - one a starter, the other a strong off-the-bench player - got sick after that. He limited workouts to keep from spreading the illness to the rest of the squad. The sisters weren't well enough to return to school until the day of the game.

"We didn't practice at all this week, and it really showed. We looked rusty," he said.

Despite their shooting woes, the Lady Rattlers rallied during the third quarter and briefly took a 32-30 lead early in the fourth period on Lafferty's 3-pointer.

Tucumcari went about five minutes without scoring after that. Logan scored nine unanswered points during that time to grab a 39-32 led with 2:06 left.

"We just didn't finish our shots and started forcing them a little bit, got impatient," Benavidez said.

Caylee Benavidez made a 3-pointer to close the gap to 39-35, but Rose and Lizzy Horner went a combined 5-for-6 from the free throw line after that to seal the victory.

Coach Benavidez said he was optimistic his team would make a better showing during this week's Lady Rattler Invite. Tucumcari opens the tournament against at 6:30 p.m. Thursday against Raton. The Lady Rattlers then face Thoreau at 6:30 p.m. Friday, then Santa Rosa at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

"It's a tough loss, but it's not the end of the world for us," he said. "We have a lot more to look forward to. We hope with a week's rest, we'll be ready to start the tournament next week."

Santa Rosa 64, Logan 45

The Lady Longhorns had a chance for a road win at Santa Rosa on Dec. 19, but the Lady Lions pulled away in the second half for the 64-45 non-district victory.

Robertson said his team didn't handle the pressure well, but he also gave credit to Santa Rosa.

"They're a great team. They're really good," he said. "We're young, and we need those types of challenges."

Horner led Logan with 14 points.

Santa Rosa, ranked fourth in Class 2A in the latest coaches poll, improved to 6-1.