Cavegirls are ready to take on everyone, anyone
CARLSBAD – Whatever obstacles the new season may have in store for Carlsbad girls basketball team, the Cavegirls are ready to take on.
Much of the Carlsbad’s returning personnel bring plenty of speed to the table and the Cavegirls will try to play a bit more up-tempo this winter.
Coach John Zumbrun and players said they weren’t able to move the ball as fast as they would have liked to last season because they had a lot of inexperienced players at the varsity level.
The younger players had to adjust to the faster pace at the high school level and learn all the various niceties the game entails.
“We were kind of timid about things,” senior forward Rylan Gonsalez said.
But in the long run, they grew.
Point guard Mariel Gomez, a freshman last year, became more of a floor general, and shooting guard Carsyn Boswell, just an eighth grader at the time, delivered in some of the biggest moments of the year – including the game-winning layup in overtime at Hobbs.
“Experience, it’s invaluable - especially at the guards,” Zumbrun said. “Mariel and Carsyn, it was almost unheard of to play so young like we did last year. They just really matured.”
Also tacking on 60 summer league games in June, they only kept improving.
“They’re playing like seasoned veterans right now,” Zumbrun said.
Gomez and Boswell now have an extra year of experience under their belts.
Gonsalez said it’ll help them transition into the new campaign easier.
“They know what it’s like to play varsity already, so they have that in their brain already. They know exactly what to do,” Gonsalez said.
Carlsbad (16-13 last year) is now addressing some of the things that affect the speed of the game, such as the press-break and ball movement.
Last year, Carlsbad had some trouble penetrating a full-court press trying to get the ball down the floor. Now they’re working on finding those open spaces get the ball in-bounds quicker and take off quicker.
“We’re definitely going to have to play a quicker game than we usually do, speed things up a little bit. We have a lot of speed on the team,” Gonsalez said. “(The underclassmen) are quick. They can shoot quicker, and they’re more prepared for this year.”
They’re also passing the ball quicker, taking shots sooner and being more decisive with shot selection.
“We’ve been working hard on the defensive end and offensive end just breaking, traps and stuff like that, just getting the ball up,” Gomez said.
Gomez said Carlsbad is now in a better position to start playing quicker because the faster players are back.
“That’s extremely big, especially getting the ball up the floor, fast breaks. That gets us a lot of points,” Gomez said. “If we move the ball quick enough, that’ll definitely help us.”
Other key returners include junior guard Lauryn Wade, as well as junior posts Kim Best and Teagan Rogers.
Seniors Caitlin Carrasco and Katelyn Clarkston will add extra speed and firepower scoring on the perimeter.
“They both lay down their shots really well. If they’re open, they’ll make it,” Gomez said. “Clarkston can definitely rebound the ball very well. That’ll help us a lot, especially with the fast break because she can throw it down the floor and look for me. Carrasco’s fast, and she can shoot the ball.”
Zumbrun said Carlsbad is looking for faster ball movement and decision-making.
“We think we can play faster. We look at our younger kids and our younger programs, and we have a lot of speed at the lower levels. We know our tempo’s going to improve,” Zumbrun said. “We’re going to look to press a little bit more and run a little bit more. A lot of that’s dependent on depth. We can come in with five people off the bench and be competitive. With the experience and our depth, it allows us to be more flexible and be able to adjust to what the situation requires.”
Carlsbad opened the regular season last Tuesday with a 70-16 home win over Chaparral. The Cavegirls will play at 7 p.m. next Tuesday at Goddard.
2015-2016 CAVEGIRLS ROSTER
No. 2 Jensen Leivo, freshman guard, 5-foot-5
No. 3 Caitlin Carrasco, senior point guard, 5-foot-5
No. 11 Kloey Tiller, senior wing, 5-foot-7
No. 12 Carsyn Boswell, freshman guard, 5-foot-8
No. 13 Lauryn Wade, junior guard, 5-foot-7
No. 21 Mariel Gomez, sophomore point guard, 5-foot-11
No. 22 Nyah Chacon, freshman point guard, 5-foot-4
No. 23 Katelyn Clarkston, senior forward, 5-foot-7
No. 30 Dayshaun Moore, freshman forward, 5-foot-7
No. 42 Rylan Gonsalez, senior forward, 5-foot-11
No. 51 Kim Best, junior center, 6-foot
No. 52 Teagan Rogers, junior center, 6-foot-1
No. 55 Kaysha Montoya, junior center 5-foot-10
Head coach: John Zumbrun (8th year)
2015-2016 Cavegirls Schedule:
Nov. 17: Chaparral – W, 70-16
Dec. 1: at Goddard, 7 p.m.
Dec. 8: at Roswell, 7 p.m.
Dec. 10-13: Artesia City of Champions Classic tournament
Dec. 15: Lovington, 7 p.m.
Dec. 18: at Gadsden, 7 p.m.
Dec. 19: at Mayfield, 1 p.m.
Jan. 2: Las Cruces, 2 p.m.
Jan. 5: Roswell, 7 p.m.
Jan. 7: at Lovington, 7 p.m.
Jan. 8: at Chaparral, 7 p.m.
Jan. 9: at Santa Teresa, 3 p.m.
Jan. 12: at Artesia, 7 p.m.
Jan. 14: at Manzano, 7 p.m.
Jan. 15: at Volcano Vista, 5:30 p.m.
Jan. 16: at Eldorado, 1 p.m.
Jan. 22: Artesia, 7 p.m.
Jan. 26: Clovis, 7 p.m. *
Jan. 29: Alamogordo, 7 p.m. *
Jan. 30: Oñate, 2 p.m.
Feb. 5: Hobbs, 7 p.m. *
Feb. 9: at Clovis, 7 p.m. *
Feb. 12: at Alamogordo, 7 p.m. *
Feb. 18: Hobbs, 7 p.m. *
* = District 4-6A game
Current-Argus Sports Editor Matt Hollinshead may be reached at 575-628-5518.