Lady Rattlers face tough early schedule

The Tucumcari High School girls basketball team likely will have another excellent season, though it will have to fight its way through a rugged non-district schedule first.

The Lady Rattlers begin their season Thursday at the West Las Vegas tournament against Santa Fe Indian, the same team that knocked them out in the Class 3A quarterfinals last season.

Tucumcari's non-district schedule also includes its first home game against Texico on Dec. 10, plus clashes that include Class 1A runner-up Logan, Jal, Hatch Valley and Goddard before settling into district play in late January.

That doesn't count other to-be-decided opponents THS would face during this week's tournament, plus the Citizens Bank Invitational later this month and the Lady Rattler Invitational in early January.

"Our first 10 games are going to be pretty solid," THS coach Patrick Benavidez said. "Our record's either going to look good or it's going to look bad, but I think we're going to be more prepared for the state tournament."

Still, Tucumcari might be up to the challenge. The Lady Rattlers return their top three scorers from a 23-4 campaign last season - senior guard Caylee Benavidez (16.1 points per game), junior center-forward Kyla Lopez (13.6 points per game) and senior guard July Lafferty (13.4 points per game).

Also, sophomore Cambree Benavidez is back in the lineup. She was averaging 16 points per game before suffering a season-ending knee injury almost a year ago.

Coach Benavidez said he likely will fill the rest of the varsity lineup with junior Rachel Mardo, senior Aliyah Marez, junior Rhiannon Rey-Montoya and eighth-grader Maaja Anaya.

Tucumcari for years has been known for its defense, especially a full-court press that forces turnovers in bunches. But Coach Benavidez said he'll be a little more careful using the press.

"I need to do a better job of giving some of the girls breaks, even if it's 30 seconds or a minute, because we've had those moments we'll go five minutes where we're just struggling because we're a little winded and tired," he said. "We want to make sure we save some some legs for them."

Asked about his team's biggest strength, the THS coach replied with something he hasn't had a lot of in recent years - experience.

"For the first time ever, because the last five years we've been young, I think it's our our experience," Benavidez said. "Caylee, Kyla and July, now they're the experienced ones. With them playing in the state tournament the last three years, we're going to have three of the top players coming back in 2A, then when we add Cambree in there, that's just a strength in itself."

Asked about weaknesses, Benavidez cited depth on the bench, "though that can change, too, because kids will step up."

"We also don't have a lot of height," he added. "We lost Kirksey Smith from last year; she was one of our post players."

With realignment, Tucumcari dropped down from Class 3A to 2A. The Lady Rattlers were placed into a new district with Pecos, Raton, Santa Rosa, Estancia and Clayton.

Coach Benavidez said Pecos probably will be one of the contenders for a district title, though one or two other teams might rise up to challenge.