Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Staff Photo: Josh Lucero. Logan junior center Kippi Webb gets the rebound and looks for the shot over Melrose defenders during the Longhorns 2A semifinal game at Bernalillo High School
link Staff Photo: Josh Lucero.
Logan junior center Kippi Webb gets the rebound and looks for the shot over Melrose defenders during the Longhorns 2A semifinal game at Bernalillo High School
SPORTS WRITER
BERNALILLO — The Melrose and Logan girls basketball teams looked a bit like they’d come out of a football game after Friday’s Class 2A state semifinal at Bernalillo H.S.
Meeting for the sixth time in just over a month, the district rivals slugged it out until the final buzzer went off with Melrose claiming a 65-48 victory and a ticket to today’s 5:30 p.m. state final against top-seeded Tatum at The Pit in Albuquerque.
Caley Barnard, one of only two seniors on the Melrose roster, poured in 22 points and added eight rebounds and five assists as the Lady Buffs (23-5) opened a double-figure lead late in the third period and maintained it the rest of the way.
Melrose went 16-for-19 from the foul line in the second half, including 11-of-12 in the final stanza.
Now the trick is to get back up for today’s finale.
“The good thing is all of us starters have played at The Pit,” Barnard said. “We’ve just got to go play like it’s some old gym.”
Junior guard Reagan Carthel finished with 18 points and eighr rebounds and junior guard Taylor Bostwick added 14 points and seven rebounds for Melrose.
The third-seeded Lady Longhorns (21-8), who lost three starters to fouls in the second half, got 16 points and seven rebounds from senior guard Shana Sorrels and 10 points from senior post Brooke Rachor.
“We had a few shots that didn’t fall, but that’s part of it up here,” Logan coach Clair Rachor, Brooke’s father, said. “I’m really just proud of the girls.”
Barnard said the Lady Buffs were ready to try to protect the ball against Logan’s aggressive effort to come back in the game.
“They had to (play that way),” she said. “Honestly, there’ve been a lot of times where we’ve been under that pressure and haven’t produced. They know everything about us, we know everything about them.”
The Lady Buffs took the season series from Logan 4-2. Two years ago, the teams met in the then-Class 1A final with Logan taking home the blue trophy.
“The girls played fantastic,” Melrose coach Caleb King said. “It’s a good way to go into tomorrow’s game. “Overall, everybody who went out there played well.”
SUMMARY
Class 1A semifinals
At Bernalillo H.S.
Melrose 65, Logan 48
Logan (21-8) — Kippi Webb 2-5 3-5 7, Lauryn Robertson 1-3 0-0 2, Emily Collins 3-10 3-4 9, Brooke Rachor 4-12 0-0 10, Shana Sorrels 5-17 5-6 16 Baylee Hines 0-2 0-0 0, kaylee Bruhn 0-0 0-0 0, Kaylee Foote 2-4 0-2 4, McKenna Stone 0-1 0-0 0, Kaitlind Hittson 0-0 0-0 0, Harlie Roach 0-0 0-0 0, Bailey Smith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-54 11-17 48.
Melrose (22-5) — Reagan Carthel 7-12 2-3 18, Ember Woods 0-2 2-5 2, Taylor Bostwick 3-9 8-11 14, Caley Barnard 6-13 9-11 22, Cailey Payne 1-4 0-0 2, Jaydan Beard 0-0 2-2 2, Kiki Roybal 0-0 0-0 0, Landry Widner 0-0 0-0 0, Addisen Dial 2-6 0-0 5, Destiny Sanchez 0-1 0-0 0, Lynnae Allen 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-48 23-32 65.
Logan 15 12 10 11 — 48
Melrose 15 17 18 15 — 65
3-pointers — Logan 3-20 (Rachor 2-8, Sorrels 1-8, Robertson 0-1, Webb 0-1, Hines 0-2), Melrose 4-16 (Carthels 2-3, Dial 1-2, Barnard 1-3, Allen 0-1, Payne 0-1, Sanchez 0-1, Woods 0-1, Bostwick 0-4). Rebounds — Logan 34 (Collins, Sorrels 7), Melrose 35 (Barnard, Carthel 8). Assists — Logan 8 (Robertson 3), Melrose 11 (Barnard 5). Total fouls — Logan 26, Melrose 15. Fouled out — Webb, Robertson, Sorrels.
