No. 1 Texico, No. 2 Tohatchi roll into the semifinals
RIO RANCHO — Texico would like to leave Class 3A with a girls state basketball title, and the Wolverines are one win away.
A 63-42 win over Clayton in Thursday’s state semifinal round at the Santa Ana Star Center puts Texico in today’s final against Tohatchi, a resounding winner over Tularosa. Tipoff is 1:30 p.m. at Dreamstyle Arena — the Pit.
No. 1 TEXICO 63, No. 5 CLAYTON
42: The Wolverines’ (25-4) pregame warmups began with a crisp passing weave. It’s called the four-corner drill, and Texico coach Richard Luscombe said it has been a program staple for his 29 years there.
Junior star guard Baylee Sours credits the practice with helping concentration.
“It makes you have to concentrate, to watch the ball to your hands,” she said. “You have to pay attention.”
That clinical offensive precision fueled a 13-of-20 first-half shooting performance (22-of-38 for the game) en route to a comfortable win over Clayton (19-10). Sours scored a game-high 27 points, combining with senior Maryelle Dickerman (18 points) to outscore the Yellowjackets themselves.
“We gambled a lot and it didn’t pay off. We gave away a lot of layups,” Clayton coach Justin Daugherty said. “We just got out of our game.”
After falling behind 18-6 in the first quarter, Clayton never got closer than six the rest of the game. Texico held Clayton scoreless from the floor for the first 6:49 of the third quarter. The Yellowjackets were outscored 16-5 during the stretch with the only Clayton points coming from the foul line.
Texico is searching for its third 3A title in four years after winning in 2015 and 2016. Clayton and Texico met in the 2015 final, a 50-39 Wolverines victory. Sours played a role even as a freshman hitting some critical baskets in the semifinals.
This was the fourth meeting for Clayton and Texico this season. Texico swept the regular-season games before Clayton won the district championship. — Noah Seligman
No. 2 TOHATCHI 78, No. 6 TULAROSA 43: The 8 a.m. tip obviously didn’t bother the Cougars (24-6), who scored 28 points in the first quarter and led by 44 before calling off the dogs in the fourth.
Senior point guard Kalian Mitchell scored 36 points to go with 12 rebounds for Tohatchi. Cameron Tsosie added 17 points.
Shacie Marr’s 11 points led Tularosa (20-8), which had 26 turnovers that contributed to 27 Tohatchi points.