When
Clovis (N.M.) girls basketball coach Jeff Reed tells people that his team's closest away game is 88 miles away, they think he's joking.
Unfortunately for the Wildcats (12-0), who are the top-ranked team in New Mexico and ranked 36th nationally by MaxPreps, Reed happens to be dead serious. But being on a bus for multiple day-long road trips hasn't deterred the defending 5A state champions from getting off to another typical fast start.
"Our traveling never stops," Reed said. "On the really long trips, we'll kill time by doing study hall or going to a mall if there's one in town. The coaches can watch game film on the way back home, so that's nice. But the 88-mile trip (to play Canyon of Texas) was nothing for us."
Clovis, which is located on the central east side of the state near the Texas border, plays in one of the largest districts (by square miles) in the state, and yet there are only three teams in the powerhouse-packed 5A-District 4: Clovis, Hobbs (8-3) and Carlsbad (7-1).
Clovis is 181 miles away from Carlsbad and a mere 128 miles away from Hobbs. The Wildcats enter Friday's game at Cleveland (Rio Rancho) — a 233-mile excursion — as a team with no major weaknesses.
Led by shooting guard
Danni Williams, last year's New Mexico Gatorade State Player of the Year, Clovis has been on a tear from the moment the season started. Some of the scores reflect the Wildcats' dominance: 61-24, 67-22, 76-25, 63-9.
The latter result came in a win over Lovington, which is the two-time defending 3A state champion, so it's not like Clovis is beating up on chopped liver. Canyon is a perennial 4A Texas power, Hobbs is a contender for the state championship every year and St. Pius X (a team Clovis beat 73-61 on Dec. 5) is 6-1 and ranked third in New Mexico.
Williams, who is being recruited by several high-profile Division I programs, is averaging 21 points per game. Opponents are doing everything they can to contain her, but even on the rare occasion it happens, Clovis has had other players perform well and make opponents pay.
Such was the case in a gritty 50-45 win over rival Hobbs on Dec. 13 when Williams scored just seven points on 1-for-9 shooting. However, shooting guard
Brandi Gomez scored 22 points, post
Shelby Jones had 13 and point guard
Nichele Hyman added 11 to power the team to victory.
Williams and Hyman are two of the more dynamic players in the state, in that each can slash to the basket off dribble penetration with devastating results. Jones is a 6-foot post who teams with 5-9 forward
Carrie Sharp to provide rebounding and toughness in the paint.
Gomez, who has signed to play at Division II Cameron University in Oklahoma next season, is averaging 13 points per contest, and possesses an excellent mid-range jumper to go along with an ability to get to the basket off dribble penetration.
In terms of balance, star talent and defense, Clovis has it all. The Wildcats are also tough mentally, as they were able to pull out tough games against Canyon and Hobbs.
"The girls have done a good job of staying focused because they know the good teams can expose us and beat us, which Hobbs did to us twice last year," Reed said, referring to Clovis' only two losses in a 30-2 season. "We're playing well, but there are always little things to nit-pick and improve on. If we're not improving, another team will be."
It's that type of mentality that has many believing Clovis will be repeating as state champions in March. If the Wildcats can make it back-to-back titles, they will have taken the longest road to the championship.
"For Friday's game (at Cleveland), we'll leave around noon and probably won't get back to Clovis until around midnight," Reed said. "Honestly, all the traveling is not a big deal. It's all we've ever known."
Road warriors indeed.
