The Littlefield Lady Cats’ varsity basketball team, held off the Friona Squaws on the road on Friday night, 48-37, to sweep the season series.
With the win, the Lady Cats improve to 16-7 overall, 6-3 in district play.
Cali Saldana opened the contest with a three from the top of the key off of the assist from Madison Williams, but Aaliyah Padilla answered with a lay-up on the left side to make the score, 3-2. Padilla followed it up with a drive on the left side, drawing an and-one foul on Ari Castillo, her second. She converted both free throws to put the Squaws in front, 4-3, with 6:14 to play in the opening quarter.
Littlefield took a time out with 6:14 to play in the first quarter to talk things over, and out of the break, Aimee Jimenez dropped in a floater in the lane to stretch the lead to, 6-3, for Friona. With 4:20 left to play in the first quarter, Padilla was fouled on an attempt by Williams. She made the first and missed the second, but Kitzy Welch was there for the put-back to push their lead to, 3-9.
Amoni Jefferson dropped in a put-back off of a miss by Cali Saldana to end the scoring drought for the Lady Cats, but Welch responded with a put-back to make the score, 5-11. Harley London banked in a three from the left elbow, but Littlefield answered with a bucket to trim the lead to, 14-7, with 1:15 to play in the quarter.
Yase Faudoa was fouled on the floor by Nia Cleveland and made one-of-two shots from the line and Annison Steelman followed it with a put-back off of a miss by Faudoa, stretching the lead to, 17-7, as the first quarter came to a close.
Welch dropped in a lay-up to open the second quarter, but Cali Saldana answered with back-toback lay-ups and Nevaeh Esquibel drove the left side for a lay-up to cut the lead to six points, 19-13, with 6:25 to play in the first half. Jefferson kept the run going with a lay-up off of a steal on their end of the floor, as Friona called for a time out to talk things over with their lead sliced to, 19-15.
Out of the break, Padilla was fouled on an attempt by Cali Saldana and converted both free throws to make the score, 21-15. The Squaws took another time out with 5:30 to play, and out of the break, Jefferson knocked down a jumper in the lane off of the assist from Cobi Saldana, trimming the lead to, 21-17.
Welch dropped in a put-back off of a miss by Jimenez, but with 4:03 remaining in the half, Jefferson picked up a steal and dropped it in for a floater to make it a four-point game, 23-19. Faudoa responded with a lay-up for the Squaws, but Littlefield again answered, as Jefferson dropped in a lay-up on the left side to make the score, 2521.
Littlefield took a time out with 2:21 remaining in the half, and out of the break, Cali Saldana drove the right side for a lay-up and Jefferson followed it up with a layup on the right side to tie the game, 25-25, going into the locker room at halftime.
Williams opened the second half with a floater in the lane, but Welch answered quickly with a lay-up, off of the assist from Annison Steelman, keeping the game tied at, 27-27. Jefferson drove the middle for a lay-up to regain the lead for the Lady Cats, but it was short-lived, as London drained a three from the top of the key to put the Squaws on top, 30-29.
Castillo was fouled on the floor by Welch, her second, earning a trip to the line. She made the first shot and missed the second, but Jefferson grabbed the offensive rebound, which led to Cali Saldana burying a three from the left wing to make the score, 33-30. She followed it up with a lay-up to give Littlefield a five-point lead, as Friona took a time out with 5:10 to play in the third quarter.
Out of the break, Jimenez was fouled on an attempt by Williams, her second. She made one-of-two shots from the line to cut into the Lady Cat’s lead, but on the other end, Cleveland dropped in a putback, drawing an and-one foul on Reese Steelman. She missed the free throw leaving the score, 3731.
Esquibel dropped in a floater in the lane and Jefferson followed it up with a jumper from the left side off of the assist from Cali Saldana to stretch the lead to, 41-31, with 3:01 to play in the quarter. Cobi Saldana picked up a steal and took it the other way for a fast-break, but with 1:13 to play in the third quarter, Welch was fouled on an attempt by Cali Saldana, her second. She made one-of-two from the line to make the score, 43-32.
With under a minute to play in the quarter, Annison Steelman was fouled on the floor by Bri Valdez. She too made one-of-two shots from the line to cut the lead to 10 points, 43-33. With time winding down in the quarter, Welch was fouled on the floor by Valdez and made one-of-two shots from the line to close out the third quarter with Littlefield in front, 43-34.
Less than 10 seconds into the fourth quarter, Jefferson was fouled on an attempt by London, her second. She split the attempts at the line, and on their next possession, Esquibel was fouled on an attempt by Jimenez. She too split the attempts at the line, but on the other end, Padilla answered with a three from the right elbow to cut the lead to, 45-37.
Cali Saldana dropped in a layup off of the assist from Cleveland to push the lead back to double-digits and with time winding down in the game Bri Martinez was fouled on the floor by London and split the free throws, as Littlefield closed out the comeback for the win, 48-37.
The Lady Cats hosted Slaton in a big district match-up on Tuesday. Results were not available at press time. They will continue their season on Friday on the road against Shallowater.
Tip-off is scheduled for 6:15 p.m.