Lady Longhorns surge to first place in district

The Logan girls basketball team vaulted into sole possession of first place in the district with a 52-46 comeback victory Saturday over visiting Fort Sumner, the previous frontrunner.

The Lady Longhorns twice trailed the Vixens early in the fourth quarter, then put together an 11-3 scoring run to take a decisive 49-42 lead with less than two minutes left.

Desta Rose, who led Logan with 23 points, and Hailee Robertson each made late free throws to preserve the victory.

With its sixth straight win, Logan improved to 18-7 overall and 4-1 in district play. The Lady Longhorns took a one-game lead in the standings over Fort Sumner and Melrose, which each have 3-2 records in the district.

Logan, ranked fifth in Class 1A by MaxPreps.com, already has beaten Melrose twice in district play, and it avenged a 46-38 loss at Fort Sumner on Jan. 25.

The Lady Longhorns can clinch a regular-season district title with a home win against Grady on Tuesday. (The game was after the Quay County Sun’s deadline.)

Fort Sumner, ranked No. 2 by MaxPreps going into the game, fell to 17-6 overall.

The Vixens made six 3-point shots in the first half, staking a 26-20 lead at halftime.

Logan coach Dustin Robertson said he implored his team during intermission to be more aggressive on offense.

“I thought we allowed ourselves to be pushed around, and they dictated what we did and where we were on offense,” he said. “I just wanted my girls to fight more and impose our will on them.”

The Lady Longhorns responded with a 10-3 scoring run to open the third quarter, and the game was tied 33-33 at the end of the period.

Trailing 39-38 in the fourth period, Rose and Robertson each sank 3-pointers. Marilyn Moreno then scored an inside bucket, and Camryn Cantrell also scored inside with 1:55 left to give her team a 49-42 lead.

The Vixens made three more 3-pointers in the second half but struggled to score in the paint against Logan’s defense.

Fort Sumner rallied to within 49-46 with 25 seconds left. But the Vixens missed a 3-point attempt, and Robertson and Rose made three of four foul shots in the closing seconds.

“We were pretty poised in the fourth quarter and valued the basketball,” coach Robertson said.

Allyssa Casaus led the Vixens with 14 points.