PICTURED: Ashton Craft hustles to secure a loose ball during Artesia's win over Chaparral Tuesday at Bulldog Pit.
(Photo Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)
The Lady Bulldog basketball team put together four strong quarters on both ends of the court Tuesday at Bulldog Pit, evening their record with another win over a same-class opponent: 57-33 vs. Chaparral.
Ashton Craft got the ball rolling for Artesia in the opening quarter, going 1-2 from the free-throw line and adding a jumper to make it 3-0. The Lady Lobos were able to briefly leapfrog the Lady 'Dogs on an Aubrey Dominquez layup and an Arianna Molina trey with 2:47 to go in the quarter, but Artesia would outscore them 11-2 in the final minutes. Gracen Kuykendall sparked that rally with an old-fashioned three-point play, while Kailee Padilla contributed a bucket and two from the stripe and Peyton Barela and Jenna Whitmire a basket apiece to make it 14-7 going into the second.
Chaparral got another pair from beyond the arc in that quarter from Molina and Dominquez, but the Artesia girls were stronger in the paint. Avery Frederick delivered two baskets there and Kuykendall one, while Padilla and Whitmire tested the Lady Lobo defense with aggressive drives to the hoop. The former posted a bucket and a three-point play via that route, while the latter came away with a coast-to-coast layup and two from the line to put the Lady Bulldogs up by 12, 29-17, at the half.
PICTURED: Avery Frederick puts up a short-range jumper over Chaparral's Josselyn Martinez.
(Photo Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)
The Lady 'Dogs continued to use their short game to great effect in the third, with Whitmire and Padilla tacking on two more baskets and a free throw apiece, while Kuykendall went 3-4 from the stripe. Artesia held Chaparral to just eight points in the period -- sending them into the fourth with a 20-point advantage, 45-25 -- and they'd limit the Lady Lobos to the same output in the fourth. Kuykendall added seven more points to her total in that quarter, with Whitmire putting one final layup off the glass and Desiray Savoie entering the fray to log the Lady Bulldogs' lone three-pointer of the night.
Kuykendall led all scorers on the evening with 15 points, followed by Padilla with 14 and Whitmire with 13. Molina and Dominquez both finished with 11 for the Lady Lobos. The win bumped the Artesia girls to .500 on the season, 7-7, while Chaparral dropped to 6-10.
The Lady Bulldogs will now join the Bulldogs in heading north to Albuquerque for the Hope Christian Tournament. The Artesia girls open at noon Thursday, Jan. 16, against Bloomfield, while the boys will kick off their tourney run at 1:30 p.m. versus West Las Vegas.
PICTURED: Kailee Padilla puts one off the glass as Chaparral's Josselyn Martinez and teammates Jenna Whitmire (22) and Peyton Barela (45) look on.
(Photo Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)
STAT BOX
Artesia 57
Chaparral 33
Artesia (7-7): Gracen Kuykendall 5, 5-7 15; Kailee Padilla 5, 4-5 14; Jenna Whitmire 5, 3-6 13; Ashton Craft 2, 1-2 5; Avery Frederick 2, 0-0 4; Peyton Barela 1, 1-4 3; Desiray Savoie 1, 0-0 3
Totals: 21, 14-24 57
Chaparral (6-10): Aubrey Dominquez 4, 1-1 11; Arianna Molina 4, 1-6 11; Yessina Chavira 2, 0-2 4; Jessica Lara 2, 0-0 4; Josselyn Martinez 1, 0-0 2; Celeste Ordonez 0, 1-2 1
Totals: 13, 3-11 33
Field Goals: Artesia 21; Chaparral 13
Three-Pointers: Artesia 1 (Savoie); Chaparral 4 (Dominquez 2, Molina 2)
Free Throws: Artesia 14-24 (58%); Chaparral 3-11 (27%)
Turnovers: Artesia 15; Chaparral 21
Fouls: Artesia 17; Chaparral 20
Fouled Out: None