Serving the High Plains

Area high school basketball teams in action this weekend

QCS Senior Writer

Quay County high school basketball teams will be in action this weekend in single-game and tournament play.

The San Jon Coyotes (3-0) and Lady Coyotes (0-3) will host Lake Arthur at 2 p.m. Saturday.

This will be the fifth game for San Jon, having played at Adrian, Texas, on Tuesday and against Vaughn, Corona and Mosquero in November.

The Tucumcari Rattlers (1-0), Lady Rattlers (1-0), Logan Longhorns (0-0) and Lady Longhorns (0-0) will be competing in the Melrose Tournament, starting Thursday.

The Rattlers and Lady Rattlers opened their season with a set of wins on Nov. 25 against the Floyd Broncos.

“We came out with a lot of energy and kept it throughout the entire game,” said Gary Hittson, Lady Rattlers head coach.

Hittson said the Lady Rattlers did a great job of pressing the Lady Broncos and outrunning them on both ends of the court in the 40-24 win. The girls did miss some easy shots, he said, and some passes were overthrown, but he attributed that to first-game jitters.

“I was really impressed with how they played,” Hittson said. “The team shows a lot of speed and I’m excited to see how they progress this season.”

Hittson said the girls still need to work on transitioning from defense to offense and executing offensive plays. He said against Floyd, the girls were just running down court so fast and scoring they sometimes didn’t even set up a play.

“Its always great to go down court and score quickly, but as the season goes on and the competition gets tougher we will need to be able to run our offense efficiently,” Hittson said.

Hittson said the Lady Rattlers will start the tournament Thursday against the host team Lady Buffaloes, a tough matchup in tournament or single game play. He said the opening game will be a good test for the Lady Rattlers, who can learn a lot from facing strong teams early in the season.

The Melrose tournament will host the first games of the season for the Longhorns and Lady Longhorns, pitting them against familiar district and regional teams.

The Longhorns start off against the Rattlers who beat Floyd 78-41 on Nov. 25.

The Lady Longhorns, two years removed from a 1A state championship, will face Friona, Texas, in their first game of the tournament.

The girls know the Friona basketballers have the advantage of five games under their belt, said Clair Rachor, Lady Longhorns head coach.

Rachor said the Lady Longhorns expect Friona to be aggressive with a three-quarters-court trap press and will try to get the Longhorns squad into a running battle up and down the court. It’s going to come down to conditioning, but with the Lady Longhorns’ extended play in the state volleyball tournament, the girls have not had as much time for improving their endurance.

“I know we are not the only team going into this tournament with this issue,” Rachor said. “The Lady Buffaloes also competed in the state volleyball tournament, shortening their preparation time. There is not much anyone can do about it. The team just needs to play the cards they have been dealt.”

Rachor said he is excited about the team this year, with all of his starters returning and a deep bench with talent on both the varsity and junior varsity teams.

“Its going to be a good year and were looking forward to seeing how our team does,” Rachor said.