The Tucumcari Rattlers waltzed into their matchup on Friday with eight straight wins but they left with nine. They had just enough and edged Ruidoso out 54-52. That result was just more of the same for these two, as Tucumcari also won the last time the pair played last Tuesday.
Leading Tucumcari to victory were July Lafferty and Kyla Lopez. Lafferty dropped a double-double on 12 points and ten rebounds, while Lopez almost dropped a double-double on 15 points and nine rebounds. Lopez hasn't dropped below two steals for 22 straight games. Caylee Benavidez was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with seven assists.
Ruidoso lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Alexx Chavez, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 11 rebounds. Chavez is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last four games she's played. Another player making a difference was Faith Linares, who scored 11 points along with six rebounds and four steals.
Tucumcari's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 21-3. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.8 points per game. As for Ruidoso, they now have a losing record at 12-13.
Tucumcari will be playing in front of their home fans against Ruidoso at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Tucumcari is strutting with some offensive muscle, as they've averaged 52.8 points per game this season. As for Ruidoso, they will be playing in front of their home fans against New Mexico Military Institute at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are closely ranked in New Mexico (New Mexico Military Institute is ranked 128th, while Ruidoso is ranked 104th).
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
