Tucumcari waltzed into their matchup on Saturday with four straight wins... but they left with five. They walked away with a 63-54 victory over the Pecos Panthers. This was a revenge game for the Rattlers: when they faced off against the Panthers back in January, they had to take a 56-55 loss.
Tucumcari's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kyla Lopez, who dropped a double-double with 12 points and 19 rebounds. Those 19 boards gave Lopez a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Caylee Benavidez, who went 6-for-10 to rack up 20 points and five rebounds.
Rattlers
| 02/08/25 vs Pecos | 63-54 |
| 02/06/25 @ Clayton | 75-36 |
| 02/01/25 vs Raton | 65-9 |
| 01/30/25 @ Estancia | 47-38 |
| 01/25/25 vs Santa Rosa | 63-39 |
Tucumcari smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 48 consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Leah Gonzales and Brianna Bustos certainly did their best on Saturday to avoid the loss. Gonzales went 5-for-7 on her way to 13 points, while Bustos went 5-for-9 en route to 11 points. Linda Sanchez was another key player, putting up nine points.
Tucumcari's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 16-5. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.7 points over those games. As for Pecos, their defeat was their first in the district, dropping their district record down to 5-1 and their overall record down to 16-6.
Tucumcari has already played their next game, a 44-30 win against Estancia on the 11th. As for Pecos, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next match, a 55-26 victory against Raton on the 13th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
