Lady Rattlers defeat Cuba

The Tucumcari girls basketball team scored the game's first 28 points against overmatched Cuba during a 66-28 victory Friday to advance to the Class 3A quarterfinals.

The third-seeded Lady Rattlers, who improved to 22-4 with their 15th straight win, were scheduled to play sixth-seed Tularosa (18-9) for a fourth time Tuesday morning. (A final score wasn't available before deadline). Tularosa defeated Sandia Prep 47-36 in its first-round game.

The winner of the Tucumcari-Tularosa game plays the winner of the Socorro-Santa Fe Indian game at 8:15 p.m. Thursday at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho. The championship will be at 3 p.m. Friday at the Dreamstyle Arena at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

Ashley Shipley led Tucumcari with 22 points, while Jasmine Jones scored 17. Kalani French added 13 points and Aaliyah Brown nine as the Lady Rattlers converted six 3-point shots during their last home game of the season at the Snake Pit.

Despite seizing control early against Cuba and roaring to a 45-8 lead by halftime, Tucumcari coach Gary Hittson wasn't satisfied with his team's 19 turnovers and rebounding.

"We didn't play very well," Hittson said. "We turned the ball over too much - way too much for this time of year going into the quarterfinals of the state tournament. We can't have lazy passes and turnovers like we did tonight, not against a good team."

One area of concern for Tucumcari - a sprained ankle suffered by senior guard Aliyah Herrera last week - was allayed somewhat. Herrera played much of the game with no obvious ill effects and scored two points.

"She didn't do anything all week and kept icing the ankle," Hittson said. "She'll ice the ankle again tonight."

Cuba, a No. 14 seed that finished 12-12, was led by Alyssa Herrera's 16 points.

Shipley did most of the damage against the Rams during Tucumcari's 28-0 run to start the game, scoring 13 on steals, free throws and offensive rebounds. French and Jones swooshed 3-point shots, prompting Cuba coach Gilbert Dominguez to use three timeouts during the first quarter in an effort to regroup.

Tucumcari went on another 13-0 run in the second quarter, with Jones converting two 3-pointers. The Lady Rattlers made 19 steals Friday, hobbling the Rams' offense.

"Tucumcari, I saw them on film," Dominguez said. "They're very fast. They didn't look this fast on film.

"But what really surprised me was how many girls they had who could shoot the three," he added. "We were worried about 21 (Shipley); it was 31 (Jones) who killed us. They also had a couple of post players who shot the ball well.

"They're very good. In my opinion, they should have been the No. 1 seed."

In the second half, Hittson emptied his bench as a continuous clock was used to shorten the game. Tucumcari had a 40-point lead by the end of the third quarter.