The Tucumcari Rattlers entered their tilt with the Estancia Bears with eight consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with nine. Tucumcari came out on top against Estancia by a score of 44-35 on Saturday. That's another feather in the cap for Tucumcari, who also won these teams' last head-to-head.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Tucumcari to victory, but perhaps none more so than Kyla Lopez, who scored 19 points along with eight rebounds and three steals. Lopez has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last 11 times she's played. Another player making a difference was July Lafferty, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 14 rebounds.
Estancia's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Dezlyn Carreon, who scored eight points along with seven rebounds and four steals. Carreon has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times she's played. Jhenna Valencia was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with five rebounds and five steals.
Tucumcari's win was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 12-1. As for Estancia, their loss ended a nine-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 8-4.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Tucumcari will take on Robertson at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in New Mexico (Robertson is ranked 36th, while Tucumcari is ranked 38th). Estancia will get a bit of extra time to process the loss as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Academy for Technology and The Classics at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
