By Don Eskins
They overcame two very big hurdles to get there, but a cold shooting spree during second-half play wouldn’t allow the Cavegirl basketball team to get by the Deming Wildcats in the championship final of the City of Champions Tournament, hosted by the Artesia Bulldogs, December 5-7.
Falling victim to the Cats 36-28, CHS finished as the tourney’s runner-up. Leading scorers for Carlsbad in the championship game were Jasmynn Gonzales with 14 points and Abbey Dugan with nine. Gonzales also collected 10 rebounds.
En route to the final, the Cavegirls logged victories over two very good and battle-tested teams, the 8-7 El Paso Bel Air Highlanders and 6-7 El Paso Riverside Rangers.
In CHS’s opener, Abbey Dugan and Rebecca Brown found their way to the basket for 19 points each to lead the Cavegirls to a 47-43 victory over Bel Air. Dugan also pulled down 13 rebounds, Brown six.
Down 40-32 at the end of the third period, CHS outscored the Highlanders 15-3 to get the win. Dugan and Brown each scored six points in the big Cavegirl frame.
In second-round action, Carlsbad held off the stubborn Riverside Rangers to grab a 46-42 win. Dugan lit up the bucket for 24 points on the night to pace CHS to the victory. Also having a big game was Jasmynn Gonzales with 10.
After having gone 2-1 in the tournament, the Cavegirls sat at 4-2 on the year.
Although disappointed by their 36-28 loss to Deming, Cavegirl head coach Matt Enloe said his kids played some great basketball over the course of the three-day event.
“We got some great efforts from all of our girls. They played really hard throughout the tournament,” he said. “However, after playing even with the Wildcats throughout the first half of the championship final, things just didn’t go our way during the second.
“We were having some problems scoring from the outside, so Deming packed the middle on us,” he said. “Although we put up some good shots, they just wouldn’t drop for us.”
Now, according to the CHS skipper, it’s time to move on.
“We’re 4-2 right now but could easily, with a few breaks, be 6-0, so we’re off to a really good start on the new season,” said Enloe. “We just want to get better every day, and I think we did that at the City of Champions Tournament.
“Our chief concern is to be playing our best ball by the time district gets here,” the CHS coach said. “I think we’re well on our way to meeting that goal.”
COC Results:
Cavegirls
Game 1- Dec.5
Bel Air 13-11-16-03--43
C-bad 12-13-07-15--47
Game Stats: A. Dugan 19 pts-13R-5A-5A-3 Stls; R. Brown 19pts-6R; J. Gonzales 4pts-9R-1A; F. Kluesner 2pts-1A; M. Garcia 2pts-4R-2A-1 Stl; C. Zumbrun 1pt-1R-1 Stl; H. Brose 2R-2A. FT’s 12-19-63% (CHS- Hudl Digital Stats)
Game 2- Dec. 6
EPR 13-09-05-15--42
CHS 09-09-13-15--46
Game Stats: A. Dugan 24, J. Gonzales 10, R. Brown 6, and C. Zumbrun 6: FT’s 13-17-76.4% (CHS Stats)
Game 3- Dec. 7
CHS 13-06-04-05--28
DHS 09-06-15-06--36
Game Stats: H. Brose 2R, 1B; C. Zumbrun 1A-1 Stl; A. Dugan 9 pts-5R-1A-3 Stls; J. Gonzales 14pts-10R-1A-2B-1 Stl; M. Garcia 3pts-2R-2A; R. Brown 2pts-2R-1A-2B-1 Stl: FT’s 9-12-75%. (CHS-Hudl Digital Stats)
See Update on Page 6
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