Lady Cats secure District 3-3A Championship

The Littlefield Lady Cats secured the District 3-3A title on Friday with a, 62-56, road victory over the Muleshoe Lady Mules in overtime.

With the win, the Lady Cats improve to 18-9 overall, 9-0 in district play.

Kennadi Hanlin opened the game with a three from the right elbow, off of an assist from Arianna Cruz, but Aaliyah Sanchez andAraceli Diaz responded with back-to-back lay-ups for the Lady Mules to put them in front, 4-3. Hanlin took a charge on Sanchez with 5:20 to play in the opening quarter, but on the other end, Kylie Hernandez dropped in a lay-up to extend the Muleshoe lead to, 3-6.

Madison McNeese knocked down a second-chance jumper from the right elbow to cut the lead to one point, but Idaly Tarango was fouled on the other end byAmiah Elizondo, earning a trip to the line. She converted both shots at the line to make the score, 8-5. Kyndal Edgemon was fouled on a shot attempt by Kendra Kelley with 3:32 to play in the first. She made one-of-two shots at the line to make the score, 86, but Kelley answered with a lay-up on the right side, to push their lead back out to, 10-6.

Sanchez followed it up with a layup on the left side for Muleshoe, but Cruz responded with a hook-shot in the lane to trim the lead to, 12-8.Araceli Diaz knocked down a bucket in the paint, but McNeese answered with a three from the right elbow to make it a three-point Lady Mules lead, 14-11. Megan Moran drained a three from the left elbow for Muleshoe, but with time winding down in the quarter, McNeese sent the outlet pass down court to Edgemon, who finished off the play with a lay-up to cut the lead to, 17-13, heading into quarter number two.

Sanchez opened the second frame with an easy lay-up on the right side, but Edgemon responded with a layup off of the inbound pass from McNeese to make the score, 19-15, with 7:10 remaining in the first half. With under six minutes to play in the half, Edgemon knocked down a pullup jumper in the lane, but Muleshoe answered, as Sanchez sank a three from the right elbow to stretch their lead back out to, 22-17.

Hanlin was fouled on the floor and split the one-in-one opportunity, trimming the lead to, 22-18. Littlefield took a time out with 4:31 to play in the half to prevent a turnover in the back court, and out of the break, McNeese knocked down a pull-up three from the top of the key to slice the lead to one point, 22-21.

Hernandez answered for Muleshoe with a three of her own from the right elbow and on their next possession, Jaydaci Olivarez was fouled on an attempt by Maerysa Saenz earning a trip to the line. She made one-of-two shots at the line to make the score, 2621. Saenz responded on the other end with a put-back off of a miss by McNeese, drawing an and-one foul on Muleshoe. She converted the free throw to make it a one-possession game, 26-24.

Araceli Diaz drove the left side of the basket for a lay-up, but Saenz was fouled on a put-back attempt by the Lady Mules with 2:16 to play in the first half. She made one-of-two shots at the line andAraceli Diaz was called for a charge with 1:47 to play in the half, giving her three fouls in the contest. A few moments later, Edgemon was fouled on an attempt, putting her on the line for a pair of free throws. She made the first and missed the second, but McNeese was there for the put-back to tie the game, 28-28, with 1:26 remaining in the half.

Hernandez dropped in a quick layup to reclaim the lead for Muleshoe and Tarango drained a corner three from the right side at the buzzer to push their lead back out to, 33-28, going into the locker room at halftime.

Out of the break, Payton Otwell was fouled on an attempt by Edgemon; she made one-of-two shots at the line to push their lead to, 34-28, to open the second half. Cruz hit Elizondo for a lay-up on the left side, as Mulehsoe took a time out to talk things over. Out of the break, McNeese knocked down a runner from the right side to make it a one-possession game, and on their next possession, Cruz drove the lane and kicked the ball out to Saenz for a mid-range jumper from the left side to tie the game, 34-34.

Hanlin kept the rally going with a lay-up off of a steal, as Muleshoe took a time out to try and slow down the Lady Cats momentum with 4:01 left to play in the third quarter. Out of the break, Edgemon was called for a charge and the Lady Mules capitalized on the turnover, as Hernandez knocked down a jumper from the right elbow to tie the game, 36-36.

Hanlin was fouled on an attempt and made one-of-two shots at the line to regain the lead for Littlefield, 37-36, and Saenz followed it up with a three from the right corner off of an assist from Cruz to make the score, 40-36, as Muleshoe called a time out with 1:21 to play in the third. Out of the break, Hernandez buried a three from the left elbow to cut the Lady Cats’ lead to one point, 40-39, heading into the final quarter of play.

Araceli Diaz was fouled on an attempt by Cruz to open the fourth quarter; she sank both free throws to put Muleshoe back in front, 41-40, and two possessions later, Juliana Diaz was fouled on an attempt by Elizondo; she made the first shot and missed the second shot, but Otwell grabbed the offensive rebound, which led to a three from the right elbow from Sanchez to push their lead out to five points, 45-40.

Edgemon was fouled on a put-back attempt off of a miss by McNeese and made one-of-two shots from the line, butAraceli Diaz answered with a thirdchance put-back to stretch their lead to six points, 47-41. After a Littlefield time out with 3:47 to play in the game Edgemon was fouled on a put-back attempt by Tarango; she made oneof- two shots from the line to make the score, 47-42 and on their next possession, Saenz was fouled on the floor, earning a one-in-one opportunity at the line. She sank both free throws to make it a three-point game, 47-44.

With 2:30 to play, McNeese was fouled on the floor by Kelley, who fouled out of the contest; she converted both free throws to make it a one-point Muleshoe lead, 47-46. With under two minutes remaining, Cruz lobbed a pass over the top to Edgemon, who finished the play with a lay-up on the left side to put the Lady Cats in front, 48-47.

Muleshoe took a time out and out of the break, McNeese was fouled on the floor by Tarango, who was called for a flagrent foul. McNeese sank both shots from the line to extend their lead to, 50-47. With 1:21 remaining, McNeese was fouled on the floor by Sanchez, who picked up her third foul of the game. She made one-of-two shots from the line, but on the next play, Sanchez was fouled on the floor by McNeese. She too split the free throws to trim the lead to, 51-48.

Cruz split a pair of free throws for Littlefield after being fouled on the floor byAraceli Diaz, who fouled out of the contest, but Muleshoe responded, as Sanchez knocked down a deep two from the top of the key, as they quickly took a time out trailing by one point, 52-51, with 40 seconds remaining.

After a Littlefield time out with 25 seconds to play, McNeese was fouled on the floor; she split the free throws to make it a one-possession game, but on the other end, Hernandez was fouled on a three-point attempt by McNeese with 16.5 seconds to play in the game. She made two-of-three shots from the line to tie the game, 5353, sending it to overtime.

McNeese threw the ball off of a defender’s back to herself for a lay-up under their own basket to open the extra period and Edgemon followed it up with a lay-up, stretching their lead to, 57-53, with just over three minutes to play in the game. Hanlin and Sanchez each split a pair of free throws and Cruz was fouled on the floor by Sanchez, earning a trip to the line for Littlefield. She too made one-of-two shots from the line, making the score, 59-54.

Sanchez drove to the basket for a lay-up, as Muleshoe took a time out with 1:55 remaining, but out of the break, McNeese was fouled on the floor and split the free throws to make it a four-point game, 60-56. She would convert another pair of free throws to ice the game for the Lady Cats, 62-56.

McNeese led the team in scoring with 23 points, and she was joined in double-figures scoring by Edgemon, who tallied 14 points. Saenz chipped in nine points, while Hanlin contributed eight points and Cruz added six points. Elizondo finished with two points in the contest.