Cavegirls Host Eastlake in Season Opener

By Don Eskins

The 2025-26 basketball season will tip off for the Carlsbad High Cavegirls in the Cavern City on Saturday, November 22.

On Saturday, CHS will entertain the El Paso Eastlake Falcons. The JVs will open play in the Cavegirl season inaugural at noon. The varsity will take the floor at 1:30 p.m.

Despite losing some talented athletes to graduation last year, Cavegirl head coach Matt Enloe said his girls are more than ready for the challenges ahead.

“We had probably the best off-season and summer we’ve ever had for player development,” said Enloe. “We played a lot of games this summer, and because of it, along with the efforts we got from our kids, their skill levels and knowledge of the game have definitely improved.”

Expected to assume leading roles for CHS this year are returning seniors Hayden Brose and Faith Kluesner and junior Thalia Payanes.

“Hayden, Faith, and Thalia played quite a bit for us last year, so we’ll be leaning on them to help us jump-start the season,” said Enloe. “We also expect to see some big things from senior Serena Carrasco. Serena played for us as a sophomore but moved to Las Cruces last year. We’re really happy to get her back.

“Between our seniors, juniors, sophomores, and even a couple of freshmen, we have a good mix of kids this year. So, we feel like we have all the pieces necessary for a successful season,” said the Cavegirl coach. “As for height, we’re not quite as tall as we were last year, but we’re much faster, something we plan on using to our advantage.”

As always, the Eastlake Falcons will take the floor having already played several games, and as always, Carlsbad, along with all other New Mexico schools, hasn’t.

“We just got through having our tryouts, so we’ll be taking the floor against Eastlake, having had just a couple of practices under our belts,” said Enloe. “It’s a tough turnaround for us, but on the other hand, it will be a good measuring stick for us too.”

Following their 2025 inaugural with El Paso Eastlake, the Cavegirls will host the Chaparral Lobos on Tuesday night, November 25.