Cavegirls Braced for No. 2 Hobbs Eagles

kmarksteiner0
13 minutes ago
2 min read

By Don Eskins

The 11-14 Carlsbad Cavegirls, ranked 20th by MaxPreps, will host the second-ranked 23-2 Hobbs Eagles on Friday night, February 20.

The clash will mark the end of regular-season and district play for both teams. The JVs will open up the night’s play at 5:30 p.m., followed by the varsity at 7 p.m.

To nobody’s surprise, Hobbs, who has already clinched this season’s conference title, sits at the top of the District 4/5A standings with an unblemished 5-0 record. The Cavegirls, in third place, are 2-3.

The two teams have already met once, a tussle that saw the Eagles down CHS 70-24.

The Carlsbad girls will enter Friday night’s clash coming off a 48-39 loss to the Roswell Coyotes in Roswell on Tuesday night, February 13. Hobbs, on the same night, rolled over the Clovis Wildcats 68-21.

In CHS’s loss to Roswell, Serenity Medrano led all Cavegirl scorers with 14 points. Also scoring were Mia Payanes, with nine, Juliette Licon, with seven, Serena Carrasco, with five, Hayden Brose, with two, and Kendra Ortega, with two. On the night, the Cavegirls hit 7-of-11 free throws, 64 percent.

District 4/5A Tournament

Although the Cavegirls have struggled with scoring this season, they did split with both Roswell and Clovis. So, with a good run in the District 4/5A tournament, they could battle their way all the way to the conference final.

“Winning the tournament would be great, but what we’re looking at mostly is just having an opportunity to put more victories on our won-loss record,” said Cavegirl head coach Matt Enloe. “With at least two more wins, our opportunity to get a berth in this year’s state tournament would greatly increase. So, for us, there’s a lot riding on how well we perform during our conference tourney.”

The 2025-26 District 4/5A tournament’s first round will take place on Tuesday, February 24, with the semi-final on Thursday, February 26, and final on Saturday, February 28, at the site of the highest seed.

Tuesday’s and Thursday’s games are set to tip off at 6 p.m. Saturday’s game will take place at noon, unless both teams agree to play at a different time. Should boys’ and girls’ teams be playing at the same site on Tuesday or Thursday, games will get underway at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.

On Friday night, February 20, the Clovis Wildcats will host the Roswell Coyotes, a team they’ve already beaten once, 48-27. Should Clovis upend Roswell once again, Carlsbad will finish out district play in third place and will host the Coyotes on Tuesday night, February 24.

Should the Otes beat Clovis, the Cavegirls will finish fourth and have to travel to Roswell for their first-round game.

District 4/5A Standings

No. Team District Yr.

1. Hobbs 5-0 23-2

2. Clovis 2-3 11-13

3. Carlsbad 2-3 11-14

4. Roswell 1-4 9-16

As of Thursday, Feb. 19.