Mike Smith

Artesia Daily Press

msmith@currentargus.com

Hattie Harrison and Jenna Whitmire helped erase a fourth quarter 12-point deficit against the Carlsbad Cavegirls Tuesday night in Carlsbad.

Artesia fell short in the 52-46 loss as Carlsbad’s Abbey Dugan scored 28 points and made some key foul shots late in the game.

The Lady Bulldogs made the Cavegirls work for the win as junior guard Whitmire and senior shooting guard/post player Harrison provided some second-half firepower for an Artesia offense that struggled in the earlier stages of the game.

Artesia head coach Candice Pollard said the Lady Bulldogs made some adjustments at halftime and the change to the game plan helped in the final period.

“It was a huge effort for Jenna and Hattie both,” Pollard said during a phone interview Wednesday morning. “We ended last night with momentum in the third and fourth quarters. If we work hard, we’ll be all right.”

Cavegirls head coach Matt Enloe said Dugan helped Carlsbad in some weak moments Tuesday night.

“She just made plays,” he said. “She opens up other people and it was a good team win.”

The 5-7 Lady Bulldogs host Santa Teresa at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

Cavemen power past Bulldogs

Shane Sullivan scored 14 points, including some key baskets in the closing minutes, to spark Carlsbad’s 51-44 victory over the visiting Artesia Bulldogs Tuesday night.

Sullivan was the was driving force for the Cavemen, said head coach John Zumbrun.

“He scores, he’s unselfish and an all-around great kid,” Zumbrun said.

The 6-foot-4 small forward/point guard is a junior who’s been a solid starter for two years and is the team’s best rebounder, Zumbrun said.

“He prepares himself and we kind of expect him to play at the level that he’s been playing. His shooting percentage is over 60 percent. For two years I’ve been blessed to have him,” the coach said.

Carlsbad’s win gave the Cavemen a split in their two-game series with Artesia. The Bulldogs won the first game 64-51 in Artesia on Dec. 20. Carlsbad has won nine of its 12 games this season. Artesia is 7-5.

Zumbrun said bench players gave Carlsbad a boost after 6-1 senior guard Kyran Orgain picked up his third foul in the second quarter. Orgain has been one of the mainstays for the Cavemen this season.

“We went with Maliq Mills and (Tanner) Cornum. Point guard Jacob Chavarria was looking a little tired, so we went with (junior forward) Dryden Preece,” Zumbrun said. “The energy they brought – Cornum had five (points) and Maliq had three (points), they had a ton of steals and got us back in the game. We were down early, and our bench was really the difference in the game.”

Artesia head coach Michael Mondragon, whose Bulldogs led 38-33 at the end of the third quarter, said Carlsbad got hot in the final period.

“We didn’t get the shots we wanted. Carlsbad came out, played well,” he said.

Mondragon said the Bulldogs planned to watch the video replay of the game Wednesday morning, breaking down every aspect of the loss.

Carlsbad limited Artesia guard Charlie Campbell to seven points, well below his season average of 14.3 points per game. Braylon Vega had 13 points and Clay Kincaid had 12 points in the loss.

Mondragon praised Kincaid for his underneath play as Carlsbad did not have anyone tall enough to guard the 6-foot-8 center.

“He was active on the glass and did a great job rebounding,” Mondragon said.