STARTING STRONG IN DISTRICT

Coming out of the holiday break, Clifton Lady Cubs keep winning by opening District 17-3A play with road victory over Keene

Using a strong showing at the Rio Vista Lady Eagle Tournament coming out of the holiday break Dec. 27-29, the Clifton Lady Cubs opened District 17-3A competition looking poised and ready to make a run at the title.

Sophomore Avary Woosley swished four shots from three-point range on her way to a game-high 15 points while senior Meagan Henderson tossed in 12 points to lead the Lady Cubs to a convincing 50-42 victory over the Keene Lady Chargers on the road to open district play last Friday night.

“Opening up district play with a win is always important,” Clifton girls basketball head coach Mario Villalpando said. “But when you are able to do it with a win on the road, it is even bigger. The team had a great week of preparation leading up to the game and was able to execute everything that they worked on during the week. The intensity and pressure are always heightened when it comes to district games, and the entire team was able to match intensity and handle the pressure.”

Taking command of the game early, the Lady Cubs (1-0 in district, 14-8 overall) jumped out to a 23-10 lead before halftime, and built a 21-point advantage going into the fourth quarter. But Keene (0-1, 16-8) refused to give up as the Lady Chargers rallied for 22 points in the final period before going down in defeat.

“The team did a great job on the defensive end throughout the game,” Villalpando said. “Keene is a tough opponent, and to be able to hold them to only 10 points in the first half is a testament to how well the team played defensively.”

In the district opening win, senior Laylah Gaona led Clifton with seven rebounds while scoring five points, senior Kate Humphreys and sophomore Addison Martin contributed six points and six rebounds each, junior Kyndall Hunt and Woosley dished out three assists each, while Henderson and Woosley came away with three steals apiece.

After hitting the road again to visit the Grandview Lady Zebras (0-1, 19-5) at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, the Lady Cubs will return home to host the Whitney Lady Wildcats (0-1, 7-12) at 6 p.m. Friday in the Clifton High Gymnasium. Grandview opened district play with a 47-42 loss to the 17th-ranked West Lady Trojans (1-0, 20-1), while Maypearl (1-0, 14-12) knocked off Whitney (0-1, 7-12), 56-36, last Friday.

Coming out of the seven-day break for the Christmas holiday, the Lady Cubs picked up right where they left off by winning three of four games in the Rio Vista Tournament, knocking off the host Lady Eagles, 60-25, falling to state-ranked Huckabay in a nail-biter, 36-34, before rolling past Blum, 48-26, and Strawn, 44-25.

In the tournament opening win over Rio Vista, Woosley led the Lady Cubs with 13 points with three three-pointers and two steals, followed by Gaona with 12 points and four steals, as well as junior Camy Barsh with seven points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Also contributing, senior Brianna Gonzalez scored six points, senior Reagan Thomas dished out four assists and five rebounds, Hunt delivered three assists and Humphreys collected two steals.

Against Huckabay, Gaona led Clifton with 12 points, four rebounds and two steals, Gonzalez scored 11 points, and Thomas contributed six rebounds and five assists. Sinking five three-pointers against Blum, Gaona once again led the Lady Cubs with 15 points, followed by Martin 13 with points, four rebounds, two assists, Barsh with 12 points, four rebounds, Henderson with five rebounds, as well as Thomas and Hunt two assists each.

Wrapping up the tournament with another overwhelming win over Strawn, Barsh led Clifton with 12 points, six rebounds, two assists and three steals, followed by Humphreys with eight points, six rebounds and two assists, Martinez seven points, five rebounds, as well as Martin with a team-high seven rebounds.

“Rio Vista was great for the team,” Villalpando said. “Our main goal going into the tournament was to get back into our routine after having an extended break. It was not easy to play four games in two days coming off the break, but the team handled it well.”