Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
After two hard-fought wins to advance to the finals, the Logan girls basketball team fell to No. 1-ranked Melrose 67-28 in the title game Saturday of the Reserve Tournament.
The Lady Longhorns fell behind 10-0 in the first quarter and trailed 29-14 at halftime.
“The girls executed our game plan almost perfectly in the first half,” Logan coach Dustin Robertson said. “However, we couldn’t hit shots.”
Logan’s Hailee Robertson made a 3-pointer early in the third period to close the gap to 29-17.
The Lady Buffaloes turned up the intensity of their full-court press and scored 13 unanswered points to seize a 43-17 lead.
“The second half, we had a horrible string of turnovers against their press,” Robertson said. “After that, the score got out of hand. We just have to limit those turnovers in the future to have success.”
Natalie Bongers led Logan with nine points.
Logan ended the weekend with a 12-7 record.
Desta Rose and Hailee Robertson of the Lady Longhorns each were named to the all-tournament team.
Coach Robertson admitted the tournament made for long road trips, “but the team bonding experience was great. Also was great to see a bunch of teams that we usually never see.”
Isabelle Sena scored 17 points to led Melrose. The Lady Buffs improved to 16-1, with their only loss on Dec. 10 to Kirtland Central, ranked No. 1 in Class 4A.
The Lady Longhorns face Melrose again on Thursday in Logan in the district opener for both teams.
Logan 57, Quemado 53
Rose scored 13 of her game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter to rally Logan to a come-from-behind 57-53 win over Quemado in the semifinal Friday of the Reserve Tournament.
The Lady Longhorns trailed by 12 early in the fourth quarter before they used a full-court press to force turnovers and create scoring opportunities.
Coach Robertson admitted his team started sluggishly, surmising the long bus ride may have been a factor.
“I was proud of our resilience and fighting back to win the game,” he said.
Hailee Robertson added 12 points for Logan.
Quemado ended the weekend with a 10-4 mark.
Logan 42, Reserve 38
The Lady Longhorns used a 20-13 third quarter to pull away from Reserve in the opening game Thursday of the Reserve Tournament.
Rose scored 17 points to lead Logan, and Hailee Robertson added nine.
“That (game) was the highlight of the tournament for me,” coach Robertson said. “We didn’t do anything ‘great’ in that game, but we were solid and poised in every phase.”
Reserve ended the weekend with an 8-6 record.