Allie Myers -Morgan Boatwright -Kilea Estrada All-Tourney Cavegirls Capture COC ChampionshipBy Don EskinsOnly two and a half weeks ago,the Cavegirlswere sitting at 0-2, scratching their heads and wondering what to do next, following opening season losses to Organ Mt. and El Paso Pebble Hills.But guess what? They figured it out.Following a string of five consecutive wins,the girls in blue are now5-2 and winners of last weekend's Artesia City of Champions tournament. But what seems to have led to the Cavegirl turnaround?"After dropping our first two games we just went back to practice and have tried to get better each day," said Cavegirlhead coach Matt Enloe. "We still have a long way to go but we're winning some games now and I'm really proud of the way our girls have bounced back from our rough start on the season."Allie Myers dropped in 17, Kilea Estrada 12 and Morgan Boatwright 10 to lead the Cavegirls past Goddard 66-38 in round one of the City of Champions Tournament. In semi-final round action the Cavegirls toppled El Paso Bel-Air 36-15. Tops on the scoresheet for CHS were Estrada with 11 and Mariana Sepulveda with 9.The outcome of CHS' battle with El Paso Riverside, in the tournament final, was never in doubt from the git-go. The Cavegirls jumped out in front of Riverside 12-2 after opening frame play and led 23-11 at the half en route to grabbing this year's City of Champions tournament title 37-27.Offensive leaders for the Cavegirls in their win over Riverside were Morgan Boatwright with 11 points and Allie Myers with 9.Enloe was more than pleased with the performances shown by his girls at the tournament."We got some great efforts on both sides of the ball this week," he said. "Our defense played very well. We rely on our defense to keep us in ballgames and that's just what they did.""Offensively we have a few girls, like Allie Myers, that we've been able to count on consistentlyfor points most all season," said the coach. "But this weekend we got points from a few girls who don't often score a lot, kids like Kilea Estrada and Morgan Boatwright. This
weekend they came out of their shell and they couldn’t have picked a better time to do it."Estrada and Boatwright scored in double figures in two of the three victories posted by the Cavegirls during the tournament.Enloe wasn't the only person at the tournament to notice either. Boatwright and Estrada, along with Myers,were selected to the City of Champions All-Tournament team.Coming up for the CavegirlsThis week looks to be a tough one for the Cavegirls. They’re scheduled to take on the Las Cruces Centennial Hawks, Goddard Rockets and Las Cruces Bulldawgs."We haven't played Centennial this year but we did play them a couple of times this past summer and they have a really good team. Las Cruces is also very good and should be ranked among the top five teams in the state," said Enloe. "And even thoughwe have already beaten Goddard, we can't afford to overlook them, they do have a few quality kids on their team that can beat you. Yeah, it's going to be a very challenging week for our kids.'On Monday, Dec. 13, the Cavegirls will travel to Las Cruces to take on the Centennial Hawks. The JV's will take the floor first at 5:30 with varsity play set to tipoff at 7 p.m. On Tuesday,CHS will entertain the Goddard Rockets. JV action is set for 5:30, with varsity play set for 7 p.m.On Friday, Dec. 17, the Cavegirls will host the Las Cruces High Bulldawgs. Game times are set at 5:30 for the JV's and 7 p.m. for the varsity.City of Champions Tournament Recaps Goddard 08 08 09 13 38Cavegirls21 17 20 08 66Dec. 2: Scoring: Allie Myers 17, Kilea Estrada 12, Morgan Boatwright 10, Mariana Sepulveda 7, Abbey Dugan 6, Alexa Dugan 4, Aaliyah Jones 4, Charlize Lopez 4, Jasmynn Gonzalez 2. EP Bel Air03 02 05 05 15Cavegirls10 18 06 02 36Dec. 3: Scoring: Kilea Estrada 11, Mariana Sepulveda 9, Allie Myers 4, Jasmynn Gonzales 4, Alisa Bernal 3, Aaliyah Jones 3, Morgan Boatwright 2. EP Riverside02 09 06 10 27Cavegirls12 11 10 04 37Dec. 4: Scoring: Morgan Boatwright 11, Allie Myers 9, Alexa Dugan 6, Mariana Sepulveda 4, Kilea Estrada 3, Samantha Oliver 3, Jasmynn Gonzalez 1.
Cavemen 5th at COC TournamentBy Don EskinsFollowing a disappointing 44-43 loss to the Rio Rancho Rams last weekend in Artesia'sCity of Champions basketball tournament, the Cavemen rallied to defeat the Alamogordo Tigers 41-34 and the Deming Wildcats 62-37 to claim this year's tournament consolation championship.As the consolation champions the Cavemen placed fifth. The win pushed CHS' record up to 4-1 on the year."Our game with Rio Rancho was a very good one and we had our opportunities. We just couldn't finish things out when we needed to," said Cavemen head coach John Zumbrun. "Sometimes the ball just bounces that way. But we played them tough."Offensively the Cavemen were led, in thier loss to Rio Rancho, by Ismael Chaves with 10 points. Close behind were Devin McWright with 9 and Jacob Mireles with 8. It was an especially tough night at the free throw line for the Cavemen. They hit only 7 of 16 shots at the charitiy line for 44%, their lowest per centage at the line this year.Tops on the scoresheet for the Cavemen in their 41-34 win over Alamogordo was Tylan Gonzales with 16. Damian Perez added 9 and Devin McWright 8. Perez with 26 led all scorers in Carlsbad High's 62-37 consolation championship victory over Deming. Also scoring in double-digits was Gonzales with 10."We're building towards district," said the Caveman coach. "Our goal is to be playing our best basketball when district and state tournament time rolls around."UPDATE: On Tuesday night, Dec. 7, the Cavemen routed the Goddard Rockets 56-32 to pick up their fifth win of the season vs only one loss. Tops on the Caveman scoresheet was Tylan Gonzales with 20 points and Damian Perez with 12.This week's Cavemen basketball slate:On Tuesday, Dec. 14, the Cavemen will be at home for a 5:30 p.m. game with the Mayfield Trojans. Both the C-team and JV's will compete at 4 p.m. On Friday Dec. 17 the Big Blue will travel to Las Cruces for a 7 p.m. game with Las Cruces High. The JV's take the floor first at 5:30.
On Saturday Dec. 18, in Las Cruces, the Cavemen will battle the Organ Mt. Knights. Game time for the varsity tilt is set for 1:30 p.m. The JV's play at 12:00. Artesia City of Champions Tournament RecapsCarlsbad18 19 19 16 62Deming10 08 07 12 37Dec. 4: Scoring-Damain Perez 26, Tylan Gonzales 10, Zach Barnes 5, Ismael Chaves 4, Jacob Mireles 4, GarrenGossett 3, Sam Gee 3, Evan Campos 3, RJ Amos 2, Devin McWright 2; Leaders/Assists-I. Chaves 4, RJ Amos 3, D. McWright 3; Rebounds-T. Gonzales 8, Xavier Rueda 5, D. McWright 5, D. Perez 5, RJ Amos 4, G. Gossett 4; Steals-D. Perez 6, I. Chaves 2; Blocks-D. Perez 2.Carlsbad 10 13 04 14 41Alamogordo05 07 17 05 34Dec. 3: Scoring-Tylan Gonzales 16, Damian Perez 9, Devin McWright 8, Jacob Mireles 4, RJ Amos 2, Xavier Rueda 2; Leaders/Assists-Ismael Chaves 2, T. Gonzales 1, Evan Campos 1, RJ Campos 1; Rebounds-T. Gonzales 10, D. Perez 6, D. McWright 4, E. Campos 5, Ismael Chaves 4; Steals-D. Perez 4, D. McWright 2; Blocks-D. Perez 4, T. Gonzales 1.Rio Rancho 18 10 10 06 44Carlsbad 10 14 08 11 43Dec. 2: Scoring-Ismael Chaves 10, Devin McWright 9, Tylan Gonzales 8, Damian Perez 6, Evan Campos 5, R.J. Amos 4; Leaders/Rebounding-Tylan Gonzales 10, RJ Amos 5, Damian Perez 4; Assists-Damian Perez 4, Devin McWright 1, Steals-Damian Perez 3, Tylan Gonzales 2, Blocks-Tylan Gonzales 1, Damian Perez 1.Stats by Hudl