Lady Loboes to Play Tiebreaker in Fort Stockton
     By Jessica Ray, Staff Writer ~~ The Monahans News, February 9, 2007

The basketball game between the Lady Loboes and the Pecos Eagles was the biggest game of the season in district 1-3A, so far, Monahans was the only team in the district that the Pecos girls had been unable to beat.  The Loboes were playing to keep and undefeated district season, and Pecos was playing to tie up their district record with Monahans.  The Lady Loboes beat the Pecos Eagles 45-29 last month in Monahans, and were looking for a repeat on Eagle territory.

Dina Ortiz scored a three-pointer early in the game to give the Lady Loboes a 3-0 lead.  The Eagles' first score came from free-throw shots, making the score 3-2.  A steal from Kellie Almanza, followed by a quick foul, have the Lady Loboes a turn at the free throw line.  One free throw was good, then Pecos scored a two-point field.  Ortiz followed with another three-point goal, which made the score 7-4, Monahans leading.  Kellie Almanza was fouled after a steal from Jordan.  Almanza made both free throw shots.  Bethany Willmon shot two points, giving Monahans an 11-4 lead.  Pecos tried for a comeback and made two field goals, slimming the Monahans lead to 11-8 at the end of the first quarter.

Pecos caught up in the second quarter.  An Eagle field goal early in the quarter tied the score at 11.  A last-second, three-pointer from the Pecos Eagles put them just on-point behind the Lady Loboes.  The score at the half was Monahans 23, Pecos 22.

The Eagles were revved up after halftime and were able to pass the Lady Loboes in scoring.  Fans were on the edge of their seats as the lead went back and forth between teams in the third quarter.  By the end of the quarter, Pecos locked in the lead, 36-28, and threw away the key.

Jordan Latham fouled out in the fourth quarter, while the Lady Loboes were eight points behind the Eagles.  Despite good scoring in the fourth quarter, Monahans was unable to shake off Pecos.  The final score was Monahans 37, Pecos 47.

The loss to Pecos dropped the Lady Loboes' district record to 4-1, tying with the Eagles for the district title.  After the loss in Pecos, the Ladies came home to beat the Presidio Blue Devils Tuesday night.

Monahans took possession of the ball after tip off, and Lauren Fuentes was quick to score two points.  Later in the quarter, a steal from Dina Ortiz was passed to Lauren Fuentes, who went for another two points.  Fuentes missed the shot, but Catherine Cutbirth scored on an offensive rebound.  Another steal, this one by Jordan Latham, went to Fuentes, who was fouled on the field goal attempt.  Fuentes made both free throws, making the score 6-0.  After a Presidio score, Catherine Cutbirth scored two more points.  Ortiz then scored her first two points of the night, making the score 10-2, which remained the score at the end of the quarter.

After a two-point Presidio field goal, a foul early in the second quarter gave Catherine Cutbirth a turn at the free-throw line.  Cutbirth made neither of the free-throw shots, and scoring for the Lady Lobes was off to a slow start in the second quarter.  Jordan Latham was first to score in the second quarter, with one point from a free throw.  Ortiz was also fouled, and made both free-throws to bring the score to 13-4.  The first second-quarter field goal for the Lady Lobes was  from Kellie Almanza's three pointer.  By the end of the fist half, six more points from Latham, and six points from Presidio made the score 22-10.

Second half scoring for the Lobes began with a free throw from Catherine Cutbirth, followed by two points from Latham.  Again, Catherine Cutbirth scored two points from Jordan Latham.  Ortiz was fouled on a three-point goal and made it to a four-point play when she sank the free throw.  A free throw and a field goal from Latham made the score 36-19 at the end of the third quarter.

The Lady Loboes allowed Presidio only 10 points in the final quarter, while accumulating 17.  Top scorer for the game was Jordan Latham with 14 points, followed closely by Dina Ortiz with 13 points.  The final score was 53-29 over Presidio.

While the Lady Lobes were annihilating the Blue Devils, the Pecos Eagle girls were pecking the Fort Stockton Prowlers.  The wins mean Monahans and Pecos remain tied for the district 2-3A girls' basketball title with 5-1 district records.  A tiebreaker must be played to determine district 2-3A's first place and runner up spots.  The outcome of the Pecos-Monahans game will determine what happens in the fist round of the playoffs.  The district runner-up will play Tornillo during the bi-district round February 12-13.  The district's fist place team gets a bye and a chance to rest during bi-district, then will play in the area round to be held February 15-17.  The tiebreaker against Pecos is at 6 pm in Fort Stockton on Friday.

Keyed by Mikalah & Lana