Lady Loboes Show Improvement At Sandhills Tournament
    By Randy Hogan--Staff Writer - The Monahans News, December 16, 2005

The Monahans Lady Loboes went toe-to-toe with Class 5A Lubbock High, but fell just short in the semi-final game of the Sandhills tournament to the Lady Westerners.

Lubbock High held off a spirited Monahans team that challenged every basket right up until the final buzzer.  LHS eventually won the game 43-40, and advanced to the championship game with Denver City.

"Every game we are getting better and better," Coach Treasure Thaggard said.  "We played a good game defeating Jal the night before, but I thought our play tonight was much better."

Monahans fell behind 8-0 early in the game, and Catherine Cutbirth gave the Lady Loboes their first field goal with 5 minutes to play in the first period.

MHS sophomore Jordan Latham played big for the Green, scoring her first points off of an offensive rebound.  Latham pulled the ball down off the board and went back up strong to score the field goal for the Ladies.  The basket narrowed the scoring gap to 12-6.

Kym Madrid followed Latham's bucket with a field goal of her own to move Monahans within four points at 8-12, and Lubbock called timeout.

The first period would end with MHS trailing 16-8, but Dina Ortiz quickly scored the first points for the Green in the second period to make it 18-11.

The Lady Loboes picked up a big field goal from Lauren Fuentes to take the game to 22-17.

Moments later Catherine Cutbirth stole the ball from the Lady Westerners, and pushed the ball up court.  Kym Madrid finished the possession with a lay-up to bring the score to 22-19.

Monahans would score their final points of the first half on a lay-up by Latham with 15 seconds remaining.  Latham stole the ball and drove the lane to pick up the basket, and MHS trailed 24-21 at the intermission.

The Ladies came out in the second half with the same high intensity as the first half ended.  Fuentes scored quickly, closing the deficit to just one point at 24-23.

Chelsea Cartwright added a field goal, and Cutbirth added two baskets to end the third period.

Monahans trailed 33-29 going into the final period.

The Lady Loboes came up with a big rally to close the gap at 35-33 on a field goal by Cartwright with 4:18 to play in the game.

Kym Madrid scored two baskets in a row to keep the Ladies close at 41-37.

Lubbock High muscled their way in for another score, and led 43-37 with 22 seconds to play.

Cutbirth answered quickly with a key three point shot from outside the circle, and Monahans had hope for a comeback.

Coach Thaggard used a timeout to talk the situation over and the Ladies took the court with points on their mind.

Monahans passed the ball effectively, finding Cutbirth open on the outside.  Cutbirth took the three-point shot at the buzzer but the ball rattled in and then out of the basket, sending Lubbock High to the championship game with a 43-40 victory.

"Jordan, Catherine, and Kym are leading this team really well," Thaggard said.  "Catherine and Jordan are finishing each game with double-doubles, and the bench is really starting to contribute too."

The Lady Loboes placed Catherine Cutbirth and Hazel Robinson on the All-Tournament team.   

Keyed by Logan Summers, Junior