BUILDING TOWARD DISTRICT

Playing in the Rio Vista Tournament following Christmas break, Clifton Lady Cubs tune up for District 17-3A opener at Keene

By winning five of their last seven games, the Clifton Lady Cubs surged into a seven-day holiday break. And when the Lady Cubs return to action, they will be looking to maintain some momentum as they continue to prepare for District 17-3A competition.

Winning back-to-back non-district games before the Christmas break, the Lady Cubs went into the holidays riding the high of a dominating 47-21 road victory over the Florence Lady Buffaloes Dec. 19 as senior Laylah Gaona poured in a game-high 14 points.

Coming out of the break, Clifton (10-5) will play in the Rio Vista Tournament Dec. 27-29 before opening District 17-3A competition on the road against Keene (10-7) Jan. 5.

“The break is coming at a perfect time,” Clifton girls basketball first-year head coach Mario Villalpando said. “Some of these girls have been going non-stop since the beginning of volleyball season and need a short break. Going to the Rio Vista Tournament is going to be a great way to come back from the break. We will get four games in two days, which will be a great way to get back into the swing of things.

“When it comes to district, we fully expect to be in the hunt for a district championship. With the district staying the same, we are familiar with every district opponent, and know what it is going to take to be in the hunt for that district championship.”

Behind Gaona’s effort against Florence, sophomores Avary Woosley and Addison Martin tossed in 10 points each, followed by senior Brianna Gonzalez with five points and two assists and senior Meagan Henderson with four points and three assist. Junior Cameron Ritz led the Lady Cubs with five rebounds, while Woosley came up with a team-high four steals.

“I feel great about the progress the team has made defensively. We have figured out what works best for us. But we are still looking for us to be more consistent offensively by the time we get to district.”

Led by a 17-point performance from Gonzalez, the Lady Cubs held off the surging Hamilton Lady Bulldogs for a hard-fought 59-55 non-district victory Dec. 12 at the Clifton High School Gymnasium before making it two straight with the road win in Florence.

Shaking off a lopsided loss to the 11th-ranked Lorena Lady Leopards, Clifton grabbed a commanding 33-17 lead going into halftime. But Hamilton battled back with a 20-point third quarter before the Lady Cubs secured the dramatic win.

“The team did a great job bouncing back after the Lorena game,” Villalpando said. “We had our best night of the season offensively, and jumped out to a good lead at halftime. Hamilton is a good team, and I knew they would make a run at some point during the game. The girls did a great job handling the pressure late in the game, and proud of the victory.”

Against Hamilton, Woosley contributed 12 points, junior Camy Barsh added eight points, while Gaona pulled down eight rebounds, and senior Reagan Thomas grabbed six board, four steals, dished out three assists and scored five points.

Wrapping up seven games in 11 days packed full of court action, the Lady Cubs produced dramatically different results in two games played two weeks ago as Clifton crushed Rosebud-Lott, 48-15, on the road before taking it on the chin against Class 3A’s 11th-ranked Lorena Lady Leopards, 59-15.

In the dominating win over Rosebud-Lott, Woosley led Clifton with 10 points and five steals, followed by Gaona with nine as well as Henderson and Gonzalez with seven each, while Thomas dished out five assists.

“The team did a great job against Rosebud-Lott,” Villalpando said. “Anytime you play on the road trying to beat a team for the second time is always tough. The team did not let the previous results affect the way they played this time around.”

Struggling to put points on the board against state-ranked Lorena, junior Kyndall Hunt and Gaona led the Lady Cubs with four points apiece.

“Lorena was another tough opponent for us,” Villalpando said. “Lorena is a team that will be competing for their district championship. And we learned a good deal about what we need to do to get ready for our district.”

With the win at Rosebud-Lott, Clifton went into the contest against Lorena having won three of its last four game after split four games at the tough Kolache Tournament in West.

“The Kolache Tournament was a great experience for our team,” Villalpando said. “We got to compete against some familiar opponents, as well as some we have never played before. The experience is exactly what we need to get us ready for district games.”

Despite opening the tournament with a 36-28 loss to the host West Lady Trojans, Clifton bounced back to crush Newman International Academy, 55-10, and Italy, 47-16, before closing out the weekend with a 48-39 loss to Orangefield.

“Just like our tournament, the Kolache Tournament gave us a chance to play against some quality teams,” Villalpando said. “It gave us a chance to compete, and find out more about ourselves as a team.”