Logan girls notch key district win

LOGAN - Logan freshman guard Desta Rose sank a long 3-point shot with about 42 seconds left to help lift her team to a 43-40 victory Saturday in a key district battle against Fort Sumner.

Rose totaled a game-high 22 points as the Lady Longhorns, ranked ninth in Class 1A by MaxPreps.com, improved to 14-8 overall and 2-1 in district play. Hailee Robertson added 12 points, all on 3-pointers.

No. 1-ranked Melrose (18-1) continues to be the favorite in District 6. But Logan coach Dustin Robertson said his players' victory over the Vixens keeps them in the hunt and should help during postseason seeding.

"It was big," he said of the victory Saturday. "It told them this was the biggest game so far. It's going to be huge in the big picture."

Robertson said his young team, which has struggled with erratic play this season, did most things well on Saturday.

"Shots didn't fall at times, but we executed well, played good defense and talked well," he said. "We didn't rebound good in the first half, but we overcame that. I felt like we were playing together well. And we had a great week in practice."

The Vixens fell to 11-7, 1-2. They are ranked eighth in 1A by MaxPreps. Jordan Hisel led Fort Sumner with 11 points.

Fort Sumner coach Ben Segura was dismayed to see his team repeatedly make poor passes against Logan's defense. He said his players shouldn't have been surprised by the Lady Longhorns' defensive approach.

"We've worked on that stuff and knew where we were supposed to be," he said. "We've practiced on it great, but our carryover into a stressful situation is not very good. We've got to be tougher between the ears because, right now, we're not."

Neither team had a big lead, but the Vixens grabbed a 35-29 advantage midway through the third quarter. The Lady Longhorns quickly whittled that down to a one-point lead with a 3-pointer by Marilyn Moreno and a driving basket by Rose.

Fort Sumner senior center Olivia Lucero, who scored 10 points in the first half, barely played in the fourth quarter. Segura said he'd been trying to give her more breathers after an illness. He acknowledged he might have left her on the bench too long in the second half.

"It seemed like our offense flowed, and she'd been sick all week," he said. "I had to try something different. Maybe that was a bad decision on my part. It was just something that happened. It wasn't anything she did, and she's our leader."

Natalie Bongers' fastbreak bucket with about 1:06 left gave Logan its first lead, 40-38, since the second quarter.

Fort Sumner's Allyssa Casaus made an inside basket with about 50 seconds left to tie it.

Rose was dribbling near the top of the key when she suddenly unleashed a 3-point attempt from 25 feet away. It swished through the hoop to give her team a 43-40 lead. It was Rose's first 3-point field goal of the day.

Lucero, who had been inserted back into the game with less than two minutes remaining, missed an inside shot with about 20 seconds left, and Logan rebounded. The Vixens then were forced to foul to stop the clock and possibly regain possession.

Fort Sumner had an opportunity when Logan missed a one-on-one foul shot with 6.8 seconds remaining, but an overthrown pass by the Foxes on a fastbreak opportunity flew out of bounds less than a second left.

Logan 62, Grady 49

The Lady Longhorns overcame some foul trouble to earn a 62-49 victory Thursday over visiting Grady.

Bongers scored 16 points to lead Logan, and Hailee Robertson and Marilyn Moreno each added 13.

"We struggled a bit with our point guard in foul trouble," coach Robertson said. "However, I thought it was good to see other girls step up and plug and fill spots. We had some lineups at times that I've never had together at the same time. They all did good, and hopefully that will help us continue to grow and become more dangerous as a team."

Grady fell to 8-8 overall and 0-2 in district play.