THS girls in position for district crown

A district title is there for the taking for the Tucumcari girls basketball team.

After a 57-13 drubbing of Dexter at the Lady Rattlers' home gym on Friday and a 12-point victory over Ruidoso earlier in the week, Tucumcari stands alone in first place in the standings with a 4-0 mark.

The Lady Rattlers can secure the district title this week with wins at New Mexico Military Institute on Tuesday and a home game against Ruidoso on Friday.

"We're in the driver's seat," THS coach Patrick Benavidez said. "It will be good if we can finish it at home, then we'll move on to the district tournament."

Tucumcari, ranked sixth in Class 3A by MaxPreps.com, improved to 19-3 overall after the game Friday.

Kyla Lopez led the Lady Rattlers with 19 points. Caylee Benavidez and July Lafferty each added 18 points.

The Lady Demons (3-21, 0-4) scored the first points of the game on a fastbreak. The Lady Rattlers responded with 22 unanswered points through the first quarter and part of the second to seize control. Tucumcari's press defense gave Dexter fits throughout the contest.

Tucumcari stormed to a 32-6 lead at halftime and 47-7 after three quarters. Officials imposed a running mercy clock late in the third period once the margin reached 35 points.

"The Dexter team is young, and it's hard to get going against a team like that sometimes," coach Benavidez said. "These games are kind of hard because you get out of your normal routine.

"But the girls are still trying to work on things, and they do a good job of it so we can build off it and get ready for these higher-intensity games," he added. "Everyone is contributing in some way, and that's what a good team does - contributing on rebounds, contributing on steals. We've talked about finding what you're good at and make your team better, and that's what they do."

At intermission, the team recognized Benavidez's 1,000th career point, scored Tuesday at Ruidoso. They gave her a gift basket, a commemorative poster and a basketball signed by players and coaches.

Tucumcari 63, Ruidoso 51

The Lady Rattlers grabbed sole possession of first place with a 63-51 road win last Tuesday at Ruidoso.

After a tightly fought first quarter, Tucumcari seized control with a 21-8 second period to take a 39-21 lead at halftime.

The Lady Rattlers led by as much as 20 in the second half before the Warriors made a flurry of 3-pointers late.

Coach Benavidez said his team probably became a bit winded in the fourth quarter because of the nearly 7,000-foot altitude of the Warriors' home gym.

"But we still had control of the game," he said.

Caylee Benavidez and Lopez each scored 23 points to lead Tucumcari. Lafferty added nine points and a team-high 12 rebounds.

"We did a great job attacking the basket and getting to the free-throw line, where we have been continuing to improve," coach Benavidez said. "As a team, we were 19-for-25.

"The girls did a great job controlling the game. Ruidoso shot the ball well and made the game closer in the fourth quarter, but we are happy to get out of there with in a win and are looking forward to hosting them for the potential district championship game."

Caylee Benavidez scored her 1,000th career point during the game. Eleven points from the benchmark, she reached it with a 3-point shot in the second quarter.

Benavidez said she was aware she was close to the 1,000-point mark but wasn't sure when it might happen.

"I was informed about it by my little sister Cambree screaming," she said about the 3-pointer.

"I was happy, but I was more worried about winning the game than points," she added.

The junior guard has been playing varsity ball for the Lady Rattlers since eighth grade.

Ruidoso fell to 10-12 overall and 2-1 in district play.