Cavegirls blast Hobbs in district tournament final

CARLSBAD – After another low-scoring first half against Hobbs, the Carlsbad girls basketball team's offense finally ignited in the third quarter to clip the Eagles in Friday's District 4-6A tournament championship game.

An 18-3 run in the third quarter guided the Cavegirls to a 43-21 win and the district tournament title. Coach John Zumbrun said it was Carlsbad's first-ever district tournament title.

"I never imagined that we'd get this far. It's amazing, it's surreal," senior forward Rylan Gonsalez said. "It's super exciting because usually in the past, it'd be Hobbs destroying us. It was nice for it to be the other way around for a change."

In the first half, both team struggled shooting the ball. Very few shots fell on both sides, and the number of combined rebounds was higher than the combined halftime score. Carlsbad led Hobbs 13-10 at the half, but both teams had a combined 27 rebounds at that point.

Although Carlsbad continued to play strong defense inside and out, the Cavegirls soon began hitting shots.

Players drove to the basket, scoring on key layups and taking multiple trips to the foul line.

"It was really good, considering we started off kind of slow. We started getting loose and just let our nerves settle," junior guard Lauryn Wade said.

Cavegirls freshman guard Carsyn Boswell had a game-high 11 points, along with three steals and two rebounds. Gonsalez added eight points and six rebounds.

Wade and junior center Teagan Rogers each scored nine points. Rogers also chipped in seven rebounds. Rogers started in place of junior center Kim Best, who sprained her ankle on Tuesday and did not play on Friday.

"We played amazing. It's the best we played ever against them," Rogers said. "We played as a team and made sure to talk."

Hobbs' Amaya Lewis and Payton O'Brain combined for 14 points and eight rebounds on the night.

Patience on offense helped Carlsbad beat Hobbs at home last Friday to win this year's district regular season title.

"It was really good coming out and just putting a smackdown on Hobbs," Wade said.

Both Carlsbad (25-2) and Hobbs (12-13) now wait to see where they'll be seeded in the 2016 U.S. Bank 6A State Basketball Championships girls bracket, which will be announced at 4 p.m. Sunday. All the New Mexico girls first round games begin next Friday.

Carlsbad should be one of the higher seeds in the state.

CARLSBAD 43, HOBBS 21

Up next for Carlsbad: 6A state tournament first round game next Friday (Opponent, location and time TBD)

Up next for Hobbs: 6A state tournament first round game next Friday (Opponent, location and time TBD)

Current-Argus Sports Editor Matt Hollinshead may be reached at 575-628-5518.