Lady Cats beat 4A top-ranked Moriarty Pintos on the road

MORIARTY — Jeff Reed hopes his team earned a little respect Friday night.

Clovis High’s girls took the lead for good early in the second quarter and held off Moriarty 53-47, improving to 5-3 for the season.

The Lady Pintos (5-2) were ranked No. 1 in Class 4A coming in, Reed said. They suffered their only other loss in their previous outing, a 39-38 decision last weekend to Las Cruces High, ranked No. 4 in 5A.

“We were able to finish off a game and get a win against a good opponent,” Reed said. “They’re No. 1 in 4A, so it was nice to beat them on their home floor.”

Senior Brittany Johnson and juniors Antiesha Brown and Katharine Cordova each hit two free throws in the final 90 seconds to help the Lady Wildcats seal the win. Brown finished with 11 points, while senior Leia Willis and sophomore Ashlee Pierson had 10 apiece.

Senior guard Brandi Valencia led the Lady Pintos with 21 points. Senior forward Jordan Russell added 12.

Reed said some of his bench players helped hold the fort after the Lady Cats got into some early foul trouble.

“It was a good team win,” Reed said. “We cut down on our turnovers. We did what we had to do.”

Clovis will play at home for the first time at 6 p.m. on Dec. 29 against Valley in the first round of the Plateau Holiday Classic at Rock Staubus Gym.