Mike Smith

Artesia Daily Press

msmith@currentargus.com

Jenna Whitmire scored 15 points and Avery Frederick had 13 as the Artesia Lady Bulldogs downed Santa Teresa 68-31 during a Jan. 11 matinee at the Bulldog Pit in Artesia.

Artesia head coach Candice Pollard said the opening quarter was not the best aspect of the game as the team got off to a slow start while edging to a slim 11-8 lead.

The Lady Bulldogs came to life in the second quarter, outscoring the visitors 20-5. Santa Teresa’s offense didn’t find the basket until the midway point of the period as Artesia rolled to a 31-13 advantage.

“Overall, they had fun,” Pollard said of Artesia’s play as the game wore on.

Whitmire scored 11 points in the third quarter and Frederick had 10 as Artesia stretched its lead to 48-24 and Pollard gave the reserves some court time.

Whitmore and Frederick re-entered the game early in the final period, adding to their scoring totals before the reserves returned to finish out the contest.

Pollard had praise for both junior shooting guard Whitmire and sophomore post player Frederick.

“Jenna is a natural leader. She sets the tone (for the game),” Pollard said. Frederick, the coach said, was Artesia’s “leading encourager.”

“She’s a huge leader for us,” Pollard said.

Pollard said freshman post player Gracen Kuykendall also played a big role for Artesia, scoring eight points in the win.

“It was a good matchup for her. I’m proud of her … not bad for a pup,” Pollard said. “On the whole, the girls gave it 110 percent. The girls had fun today.”

Added to a 54-26 victory Nov. 26, the Jan. 11 win gave Artesia a sweep of the season series with Santa Teresa.

Artesia overcomes slow start

On Tuesday, the Lady Bulldogs hosted Chaparral at the Bulldog Pit and pulled away in the second half to claim a 57-33 victory.

Freshman post player Gracen Kuykendall was Artesia’s leading scorer with 15 points. Jenna Whitmire had 13 points and junior guard Kailee Padilla had 12, nine of them coming in the second quarter as the Lady Bulldogs outscored the Lobos 15-10 and grabbed a 29-17 lead.

Artesia (7-7) visits Albuquerque Thursday through Saturday for the Hope Christian Invitational, facing Bloomfield on the opening day.

Bulldogs sweep North-South Shootout

Artesia traveled to Lovington last weekend for the annual round robin basketball tournament featuring schools from northern New Mexico and southeastern New Mexico.

The Bulldogs defeated Belen 72-56 Friday with 6-foot-8 center/power forward Clay Kincaid scoring 19 points. Charlie Campbell had 17 points and Braylon Vega had 11 in the victory.

Artesia head coach Michael Mondragon said the Bulldogs jumped out to an early 21-6 lead and never looked back.

On Saturday, Artesia downed the Los Alamos Hilltoppers, 77-57, as four players scored in double figures, including Campbell with 19 points and Vega with 15.

“It was a good game for us. We’re starting to build momentum,” Mondragon said. “The guys are getting in basketball shape.”

Thursday through Saturday, the 9-5 Bulldogs participate in the Hope Christian Tournament in Albuquerque.

Artesia faces West Las Vegas at 1:30 p.m. in Thursday’s opening round.

Mondragon said the West Las Vegas Dons should give the Bulldogs a test as Artesia faces its third straight northern New Mexico school.

“They’re very athletic and not very big,” he said.

The Dons’ tallest player is 6-foot-2 power forward Jonathon Gonzales.

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-308-8734 or email at msmith@currentargus.com.