By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
It was a tough night for Raton basketball as they began district play against Tucumcari Saturday night with only the girls JV team coming out with a mark in the win column.
The JV Lady Tigers this last week were joined by some of the eighth graders after their middle school season ended. Coach Victor Esparza noted that the eighth graders had been playing together for some time and that showed as they knew where their teammates would be on the floor. With the addition of these young girls the JV team has posted a mark in the win column and the future looks good for them with district play getting underway this week.
The varsity Lady Tigers according to Esparza are showing signs of improvement. He notes they are a young team but things are coming together, however they remain inconsistent in the shooting department. Saturday evening was no exception with Brianna Pais, high point player for the night only managed to pop in nine points.
The Lady Tigers handled the full court press fairly well but once across the mid court line they found themselves double teamed quite often which forced turnovers. The girls were easily outscored each quarter except the one where they found the hoop. Had the girls played the rest of the game as well as they did the fourth where they scored 15 as did the Lady Rattlers this could have been a much different game. Esparza noted though that it seems at times the offensive play affects the defensive play.
JV Game
Tucumcari 12 5 8 9 34
Raton 3 19 13 6 41
Varsity Game
Tucumcari 7 15 15 15 52
Raton 7 7 4 15 33
Tucumcari High Point
Kaycee Lease 16 0 of 2 free throws
Kalani French 13 2 of 4 free throws
Melissa Gardea 11 3 of 6 free throws
Raton High Point
Brianna Pais 9 5 of 8 free throws
Camry Mileta 7 1of 2 free throws
Sydni Silva 7 5 of 8 free throws
The boys games Saturday were another story altogether as Raton struggled against tough Rattler teams. As coach Gilbert San Roman noted the Rattlers are one of the best teams in the state. The Rattler defense at both the JV and Varsity level were tough with presses but it was the double team effort that the Rattlers presented the Tigers that presented the biggest problem forcing turnovers.
Raton’s varsity team added to the problem with empty baskets, it just seemed the Tigers couldn’t buy a basket while the Rattlers were throwing up balls that just kept falling through the net. As was heard from one fan even their junk shots were falling in the basket.
It will be a tough district season for Raton as Clayton managed to beat Tucumcari this last week and Raton will be seeing Clayton on their home court Friday evening.
JV Game
Tucucmcari 54
Raton 18
Varsity Game
Tucumcari 15 18 23 11 67
Raton 7 2 6 2 17
Tucumcari High Point
D’Ontee Sandoval 19 3 of 4 free throws
John Paul Garcia 20 6 3-pointers
Raton High Point
Jonathan Cabrieles 7 2 of 2 free throws
