Lady Rattlers wear down Logan

With its starting center in foul trouble and Logan commanding a height advantage, the Tucumcari girls basketball team looked like it was in big trouble the first half.

However, the Lady Rattlers literally wore down their foes during a surprisingly lopsided 64-40 victory Saturday at the Snake Pit.

Tucumcari improved to 6-2 and avenged its loss to the Lady Longhorns last season. Logan, ranked second in Class 1A by MaxPreps.com, fell to 9-3.

Logan coach Glynna Strand blamed fatigue for her team's loss after it defeated Santa Rosa 69-37 the previous night.

"We were allowed only two mandatory practices the entire Christmas break," she said. "Tucumcari is a very physical team, and Santa Rosa isn't."

"They really looked tired," Tucumcari coach Gary Hittson said of Logan. "I can understand that," referring of his team's weariness and nagging injuries before its Christmas break.

After Logan stormed to a 21-15 first-quarter lead, it scored only 19 points the rest of the game. The Lady Longhorns went 9-for-20 from the free-throw line and missed at least a dozen shots from under the basket - both signs of heavy legs.

Hittson said he had a hunch Logan's fatigue would play a role in Saturday's game.

"They played hard last night," he said. "They were pressing and running, and I said to myself: 'They're going to be tired tomorrow. If we can hang close, in the second half, we can get them.'"

Tucumcari's Ashley Shipley scored a game-high 19 points, going 16-for-16 from the free-throw line, along with 10 rebounds, seven steals, seven assists and five blocks

Reece Goldston added 17 points for the Lady Rattlers, and center Jasmine Jones scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds despite sitting much of the game with foul trouble.

Jordan Hines led Logan with 14 points, and Karli Webb added 13. Both fouled out in the fourth quarter as Tucumcari continued to fatten its lead.

The Lady Longhorns looked sharp in the first period, burying three 3-pointers while Tucumcari struggled to grab rebounds against their taller foes. Meanwhile, Jones sat on the bench after being whistled for her third foul.

Logan took its biggest lead - 23-15 - on Webb's inside bucket early in the second quarter.

Tucumcari rallied with 11 unanswered points, including a 3-pointer, a steal score and an inside bucket by Goldston. Shipley scored eight points during the period - all on free throws after she kept drawing fouls in the paint. Tucumcari led 30-29 at intermission.

Aaliyah Brown scored six points in the third quarter for Tucumcari. The Lady Rattlers closed the period with a Shipley 3-pointer and Alexus Lafferty's inside bucket for a 41-32 lead.

Meanwhile, Logan missed seven straight free throws at one point.

In the fourth quarter, Jones came back into the game and scored seven points as Tucumcari's lead increased to 20.

"She does that," Hittson said. "She gets three fouls right away, comes back and plays well."