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By N. Waddell
The Hayden Lady Lobo basketball team joined the Lobo basketball team at the Cougar tournament and just like the boys’ team they ran into three tall and intense playing teams that ended up with losses.
The Lady Lobos had the Lady Flames of Valley Lutheran in their first contest playing them strong in the first quarter behind the three point shooting of Melinda Marinez and the strong defensive play and rebounding of Devin Estrada and Kyana Garcia. Trailing 8 to 9 at the end of the first period, it would be as close as they would get when their scoring went by the wayside in the second stanza, getting shutout to trail 8 to 19 at the half.
The Flames came out strong in the third period outscoring the Lobos 6 to 17 to further extend their lead on their way to a 21 to 40 win over the Lady Lobos.
Melinda Marinez hit for four three pointers to lead Lady Lobo scoring with 12 points. Clarissa Chavez had six points, Makayla Ramos two points and Kyana Garcia one point.
Up next for the Lady Lobos were the Lady Chargers of McClintock High School, a tall and physical team that gave the Lobos trouble under the boards. The Hayden team came out cold in the first half scoring only four points while the rebounding power of the Chargers gave them many opportunities to score on missed attempts. The score after one half of play stood at 4 to 22, Chargers. The Lobos played the Chargers evenly in the second half but the damage had been done and they lost the game 19 to 37. Ashley Cruz led Lobo scoring with eight points followed by Kyana Garcia with six points. Cheyanne Gaona and Clarissa Chavez had two points apiece with Devin Estrada hitting for one point.
In the bracket play for the Lobos, they were matched against the Lady Gophers of Florence High School with the loser going home and the winner advancing. Hayden came out strong in the first period taking an 8 to 5 lead but it would be as close as the score would get when the Gophers finally started to use their superior height advantage to take a 13 to 20 lead at the end of the first half. The Gophers continued to out rebound the shorter Lobos and coupled with a more aggressive defense ran away from the Lobos outscoring them 5 to 26 in the second half to send the Hayden team home with a final of 18 to 46.
Devin Estrada, playing hard under the boards, and Cheyanne Gaona led the Lobos with seven points apiece. Angelica Cabrera had three points with Kyana Garcia scoring one point.
The Lady Lobos next game was a contest against the Lady Bearcats at Ray High School yesterday (information on that game was unavailable at press time) and will take on the Lady Eagles of Imagine Prep Schools on the Lobo court on Jan. 11.
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