Foul shots help lift THS girls past Logan

For the second time in less than a week, Tucumcari senior Caylee Benavidez's free-throw shooting helped preserve a victory - this time, a 42-39 nail-biter over Quay County rival Logan on Saturday at Rattler Gymnasium.

With the Lady Rattlers clinging to a 40-39 lead, Benavidez made both foul-shot attempts with 10.8 seconds left to give her team more of a cushion.

In the final seconds, the Lady Longhorns attempted two shots - including what would have been a game-tying 3-pointer - but both missed.

Benavidez also made two free throws with less than a minute left during a four-point win over Texico last Tuesday.

Benavidez's younger sister, Cambree, led Tucumcari with 16 points against Logan, including 12 in the second half. Kyla Lopez added 12 points for the Lady Rattlers.

Logan all-state junior Desta Rose scored a game-high 22 points, including going 10-of-12 from the free-throw line. However, she missed a free throw with 14.1 seconds left that would have tied it.

Tucumcari improved to 4-1. Logan, the runner-up in Class 1A last season, fell to 2-3.

Logan coach Dustin Robertson said turnovers were the key in his team's loss.

"We weren't hitting shots, either, but we had too many turnovers in the first half and too many in the second half, too," he said. "We just don't have the offense to overcome that."

The Lady Rattlers several times had a double-digit lead, including early in the fourth quarter. But the Lady Longhorns stormed back.

That didn't surprise THS coach Patrick Benavidez.

"We know that it's going to be a fight until the end," he said. "It's just a good rivalry game. And Coach Robertson always has his players ready to play. It's always good to get that that 'W' against Logan."

Tucumcari began the game strong, jumping to a 17-8 lead at the end of the first quarter and 22-10 early in the second. The Lady Rattlers' zone defense largely frustrated their opponents in the early going.

"We had open shots. We just didn't hit them," Robertson said. "That's what he was hoping for. That's what happened."

Logan closed the gap to 23-18 by intermission with an 8-1 scoring run.

In the second half, Cambree Benavidez caught fire, including a 3-point shot that gave Tucumcari a 37-27 lead early in the fourth quarter.

"She told me, 'I have a mismatch out there,'" coach Benavidez said. "So I said, 'Well, if you can take it, take her.' That was the green light for her to go to the basket. And then she hit that big three when that girl stepped off of her, and Cambree is a great shooter."

Tucumcari used a stall offense during much of the second half to burn the clock while it had a substantial lead. Coach Benavidez admitted taking the Dean Smith approach didn't match his team's attacking nature.

"The foul situation wasn't on our side, so I was hoping they'd foul us instead," he explained. "They kind of got impatient and picked up some fouls, and that's what we wanted. I knew the free throws were going to be important at the end of the game."

The THS coach also credited eighth-grader Maaja Anaya, who volunteered the unenviable task of guarding Rose in the second half.

"She rose to the occasion when she knew her teammates were in foul trouble," Coach Benavidez said. "I let her step up and take the challenge, and I thought she did a pretty decent job there at the end.

"Desta is just an amazing player. We threw everything we had at her just to try to contain her," he added.

The Lady Longhorns began clawing their way back with about four minutes left. Marilyn Moreno made two 3-point shots, including the second with 41.7 seconds left to make it a 40-38 game.

Rose had a chance to tie it if she made two foul shots with 14.1 seconds left, but she converted only one.

After going 1-for-6 from the foul line earlier, Caylee Benavidez went 3-for-4 to close the game, including the final two with 10.8 seconds left.

Rose attempted a 3-point shot in the closing seconds, but it was off the mark. Teammate Presley Griffitt rebounded and tried a putback, but it too missed. Caylee Benavidez rebounded the missed shot as time expired.

Tucumcari 53, Texico 49

The Lady Rattlers survived foul trouble and Texico's late surge during a 53-49 home-opening victory on Dec. 10.

Caylee Benavidez scored 25 points, including going 5-of-8 from the free-throw line in the last two minutes, to lead Tucumcari. Cambree Benavidez added 13 points.

Tucumcari had to sideline several starters in the first half due to foul trouble and trailed 24-18 at intermission.

"I had some girls step up and make big plays," Coach Benavidez said. "Melanie Lisabelle came in, and she'd never been on the floor for a varsity game. She made a big defensive play. It was just great. That's what we need. Our goal was just to keep it under double digits, and they did that."

The Lady Rattlers brought back those starters in the third quarter and went on a 22-9 run. Tucumcari led by as many as nine in the fourth quarter before the Wolverines rallied.

Texico narrowed the gap to 50-48 with less than a minute left, but Cambree Benavidez essentially sealed the victory by converting two free throws with 34.6 seconds remaining.

Texico fell to 2-2.

Boise City 58, Logan 50 (OT)

Host Boise City of Oklahoma prevailed against Logan 58-50 in overtime in a non-district matchup on Friday.

The Lady Longhorns, trailing by six going into the fourth quarter, rallied to tie it in regulation but scored just two points in overtime.

Rose led the Lady Longhorns with 19 points. Abby Paris added nine points and Moreno seven.

"They were solid," Robertson said of the Wildcats. "The word I kept using to describe them all week in practice was 'relentless.'"

Boise City improved to 3-1, with its only loss a two-point decision against Texline of Texas.

San Jon 53, Floyd 47

Reserve 66, San Jon 21

San Jon used a strong fourth quarter to rally past visiting Floyd 53-47 on Saturday.

With the game tied 36-36 after three periods, the Lady Coyotes outscored the Broncos 17-11 the rest of the way.

San Jon improved to 3-3 overall. Floyd fell to 1-5.

On Friday, Reserve overwhelmed San Jon 66-21.

Reserve improved to 2-1.