Tough stretch for Lady Rattlers

Tucumcari girls basketball coach Patrick Benavidez was reluctant to use the words "moral victory" when he prefers the real thing, but the term came up after the Lady Rattlers' 45-35 loss Friday to Robertson.

That's because the Lady Rattlers had lost their last three matchups against perennially state-contending Cardinals by an average of more than 31 points.

On Friday, it was a more even matchup on paper and with the result. Tucumcari (12-3) was ranked fifth in Class 3A by MaxPreps.com coming into the game. Robertson (10-6) was ranked fourth.

Benavidez said despite the loss and a defeat Thursday against Portales, his team is excited because it has the chance to run the table on the rest of its schedule, including district play.

And he was pleased to see his Lady Rattlers be much more competitive against the Cardinals.

"We're excited to meet this team back in the state tournament because we know we can play with them," he said. "And, yeah, the last three or four years, they've blown us out by quite a bit.

"I just feel good things happening for these girls," he added. "I think it's going to come together, and I think they have some great things coming."

Kyla Lopez scored 17 points to lead the Lady Rattlers. Caylee Benavidez added 11, and no other Tucumcari player was in double-digits in scoring.

Tucumcari kept it close during much of the first half until Robertson guard Arianna Martinez scored eight of her 10 points to give her team a 20-12 lead.

Several of Martinez's buckets came in transition. The Cardinals excelled in that part of the game Friday, scoring 20 points on fastbreaks. Taylor Quintana scored a team-high 12 points for Robertson, with several in transition, as well.

"I think we lost the game in the transition game," coach Benavidez said. "They pushed the ball up the court really well."

He said his team also missed several shots at point-blank range.

"We missed a lot of shots that should have been some easy buckets," he said. "We're going to have to just get those big shots to fall. We've just got to get hot at the right time."

Tucumcari twice narrowed its deficit to nine in the fourth quarter when Caylee Benavidez made two 3-pointers. But the Lady Rattlers drew no closer.

Benavidez admitted his team probably was tired after a physical game against Portales the previous night.

"The girls all have bumps and bruises, but they didn't use it as an excuse," he said. "If we're going to win a game in the state tournament and make it to the semifinals, we're going to have to play another good team like that."

Robertson coach Jose Medina said Friday's game was tough-and-tumble.

"(The officials) let both teams get away with a lot," he said. "It was just trying to control your emotions and and keep your head and still be able to execute the game.

"We built that 10-point lead in the second half, and we were able to maintain that so it didn't really get to the point of urgency."

MaxPreps lists Robertson as having the third-toughest schedule in Class 3A, which Medina hopes will toughen his team for the postseason.

"I think we learn a lot playing all these big schools and tough schools," he said. "So when we get to district and state playoffs, hopefully we've seen it all, we've experienced it all and we can just go right in it."

Portales 48, Tucumcari 27

The Lady Rattlers saw their nine-game winning streak snapped with a 48-27 home loss Thursday to Class 4A power Portales.

Tucumcari, which plays in Class 3A and will drop to Class 2A next season, fell behind 13-4 after the first quarter and 25-12 at intermission.

The Lady Rattlers mounted a small rally in third quarter, reducing the deficit to seven points. But the Lady Rams closed the fourth quarter with a 17-5 run.

Myleigh Banda led the Lady Rams with 19 points.

Caylee Benavides scored 13 points to lead Tucumcari, with July Lafferty adding nine points.

Portales, ranked fourth in Class 4A by MaxPreps.com, improved to 14-4.