Defense lifts Lady Rattlers

Good defense will cure a lot of ills.

Despite spotting Santa Rosa a 6-0 lead amid a shooting slump, the Tucumcari girls basketball team's defense overwhelmed the Lady Lions during a 63-39 district victory Saturday at Rattler Gymnasium.

The Lady Rattlers' swarming press and relentless coverage made 24 steals against Santa Rosa. In a sign how stifling Tucumcari's D was, the Lady Lions committed three 10-second penalties where they failed to move the ball past the halfcourt line.

Caylee Benavidez scored 21 points to lead THS, and teammate July Lafferty was close behind with 20 points. Maaja Anaya added 13 points - all in the second half when the Lady Rattlers left no doubt they would triumph.

Tucumcari, ranked fifth in Class 2A by MaxPreps.com, improved to 12-5 overall and 1-1 in district play.

Santa Rosa coach James Sanchez said he knew his rebuilding team would have a tough time matching up against Tucumcari's defense.

"We're learning a new system, and the girls have done a good job," he said. "They got to understand that we're going to have games where we win; we're going to have games where we lose. As long as we don't quit, we're going to be in good shape."

Santa Rosa fell to 8-10 overall and 1-1 in district.

Tucumcari, unable to the broad side of a barn, didn't score in the first 4 1/2 minutes, enabling Santa Rosa to take leads of 6-0 and 8-3 in the first quarter.

"We started out really sluggish," Tucumcari coach Patrick Benavidez said. "We were just shooting outside shots right away. Once we settled down and started running a little bit of offense, we started scoring better and and then picking up the pressure."

Lafferty scored three straight times - two after steals - to quickly turn a deficit into a 9-8 lead at the end of the period. It was part of a 13-0 run that lasted into the second quarter and gave Tucumcari a 16-8 advantage.

Tucumcari led 23-13 at intermission.

The Lady Rattlers increased their advantage with an 11-3 run in the third period, then fattened their lead to as many as 30 points in the fourth quarter.

"In the second half we did more of a 2-to-1 (defense) on them, and they struggled with that one even more," coach Benavidez said. "We did some adjustments on offense, too. We brought those big girls away from the basket, and that helped because then we were able to penetrate and and get some easy buckets."

Pecos 56, Tucumcari 55

Caylee Benavidez missed the third of three foul shots after time expired that would have forced overtime, leading to 56-55 Lady Rattlers loss Thursday at Pecos in both teams' district opener.

It was Tucumcari's first district loss in two years.

With her team trailing 56-53 and about three seconds left, Benavidez took the inbounds pass, dribbled to near the halfcourt line and launched a 3-point attempt while being fouled as the buzzer sounded.

Alone at the free-throw line and the Pecos fans screaming for her to miss, Benavidez's first two attempts rattled through the hoop. The third shot bounced off the inside of the rim and out, ending the game.

Larycia Sena's inside bucket with 14.4 seconds left provided the winning margin for the Panthers.

Tucumcari trailed for much of the game, including a nine-point deficit in the third quarter. But the Lady Rattlers rallied and tied it twice in the final period.

Benavidez scored 17 points for the Lady Rattlers. Kyla Lopez led Tucumcari with 19 points.

Pecos, ranked fourth in Class 2A and considered a contender in Tucumcari's district, improved to 12-5.

A couple of days later, Patrick Benavidez reflected on the game.

"It was a tough loss, but it wasn't a bad loss," he said. "Whenever something like that happens, they can put blame on each other. But they really picked Caylee up. They stuck together. They want to win as a team. Pecos is a hard place to play. And we almost got out of there with a win."

He admitted his team probably will have to sweep the rest of its district schedule to force a one-game tiebreaker to determine a district champion. But it's not an end-all, be-all.

"We've talked about it, and our goal is not to win a district championship this year. Our goal is to win a state championship," he said. "Getting a decent seed in the state tournament, that's our goal."