by 
By N. Waddell
The Hayden Jr. High Lobo basketball teams took on the Ray Jr. high teams last week with very little success for the Jr. High Lobos who lost three of the four games.
The seventh grade Lady Lobos and Lady Bearcats took the court first and after the first quarter it looked like it was going to be a low scoring affair especially after the Lady Lobos leading scorer, Brandi Lopez, got into foul trouble in the first period of play.
The score at the end of the period was 0 to 2 Lady Bearcats. The Lady Lobos returned the favor in the second period holding the Lady Bearcats scoreless while taking a 5 to 2 lead at the end of the first half of play.
The Lady Bearcats came out hot in the second half outscoring the Lady Lobos 5-14 in the second half to hand the Lady Lobo seventh grade team a 10-16 defeat. Aliyana Perez and Jaden Gonzales scored four points apiece for the Lady Lobos with Brandi Lopez getting two points.
The seventh grade Lobo team were on the court next and they were no match for the running game of the seventh grade Bearcats team falling behind 2-15 in the first period and farther behind at the end of the first half trailing 10-31.
The Lobos came out playing a little better in the third quarter to cut the Bearcat ledby five points but the Bearcats increased their intensity in the fourth quarter to win the game with a 23-43 score. Emitt Sims led the scoring for the Lobo seventh graders with 17 points followed by Julian Cruz with four points.
Robert Bohrn and Joaquin Camarena each scored two points for the Lobos.
The eighth grade Lady Lobo team was on the court next in what turned out to be the only bright spot of the night for the Lobo teams. The first quarter of play was close with the Lady Lobos taking a two-point 8-6 lead.
The Lady Lobos turned up their defensive game holding the Lady Bearcats to only one second period point to take a 17-7 lead at the end of the first half of play.
The Lady Bearcats came out with more intensity in the third period cutting into the Lady Lobo lead to trail by only six points when the third quarter ended 21-15. It would be as close as the Bearcats would get when the Lady Lobos upped their play on defense holding the Lady Bearcats to only two fourth quarter points to put the game away winning 30-17.
Brandi Lopez led the Lady Lobo scoring with 11 points followed by Leticia Vargas and Lexy Gomez each with six points. Jessica Lopez added five points and Martha Palofox had two points in the Lady Lobos win over the Lady Bearcats.
The fourth and final game of the evening turned out to be the most exciting game of the night. The Bearcat eighth grade team broke out to a quick 6-12 lead in the first quarter over the Lobo team at the end of the period.
The lead did stay with the Bearcats when the Lobo team came roaring back in the second quarter to take a two point 18-16 lead at the end of the first half. The Lobo team cooled off at the start of the third period allowing the Bearcat team to retake the lead 23-26.
The Lobos and the Bearcats battled each other to a draw in the fourth quarter with the Bearcats protecting their three point lead to win the game with a 31-34 score. Chris Rabago led Lobo scoring with 11 points followed by five points from Emitt Sims.
Scoring four points apiece were Santiago Pina, John Henry Gaona and Julian Cruz. Mario Chavez scored three points for the Lobos.
Next week the Lobo Jr. High teams will be on the road for two games starting on Monday with a trip to Oracle to take on the Mt. Vista Jr. High teams and will travel to Globe on Wednesday to take on the High Desert Middle School Tigers.
To comment on this article and others visit the Copper Area News Facebook or send us an email at CBNSun@MinerSunBasin.com
by by