Dexter — The Portales girls got back to their winning ways by beating Dexter 61-17 on Tuesday and pulled with a half game of  first-place Lovington in District 4-3A play.

Tara Johnson led Portales (12-10, 3-1 district) with 15 points, Dallas Russell added 14 points and Gabby Garcia scored 12. Portales hit a season-high nine 3-pointers, including three each by Russell and Ashley Hernandez.

Jenna Garcia led overmatched Dexter (4-19, 0-4) with six points.

 Leading 31-11 at halftime, Portales erased any hope of a Dexter comeback by outscoring the Demons 15-0 in the third quarter.

“I thought the girls did better in moving the ball,” Portales coach Clay Stout said. “We got a lot of open shots against Dexter’s zone defense.”

Portales has outscored Dexter 122 to 22 in two district games.

Portales (12-10, 3-1) — Tara Johnson 6 1-2 15, Dallas Russell 5 1-2 14, Gabby Garcia 5 1-4 12, Ashley Hernandez 3 0-0 9, Jenna Wagner 3 0-0 6, Macey Mitchell 0 3-6 3, Amber McCasland 1 0-0 2.

Dexter (4-19, 0-4) — Jenna Garcia 2 0-0 6, Lindsey Brown 3 2-2 5, Briana Medrano 1 1-2 4, Lauren Bogle 0 2-2 2, Krystal Paez 0 1-3 1.

Portales     16    15    15    15   —    61
Dexter        4    7    0    6     —    17   

3-pointers — Portales, Dallas Russell 3, Ashley Hernandez 3, Tara Johnson 2, Gabby Garcia. Dexter, Jenna Garcia 2, Lindsey Brown.