Senior Taelene Fowler giving the strong arm on defense against the visiting Lady Coyotes as the girls won to start off the second half of the season.
Greg Byrd | El Defensor Chieftain

 

It was not a big night for the Lady Coyotes as they visited Socorro. Cottonwood Classic showed up flat, losing to Socorro 49-21.

Cottonwood head coach Sam Galvadon was not happy with his team’s road performance. The Lady Coyotes did have several players out due to the holidays.

“We just didn’t come out to play tonight,” Galvadon said. “It’s very important we have to get back to it on the court. Fortunately we have a lot of talented young players. And on top of that our leadership is slowly learning how to trust these younger players.”

The key to the first win of 2022 for the Lady Warriors was on the defensive end. Lakesha Ganadonegro was a monster in the paint with Tamra Fowler following things up on the offensive side. The Lady Warriors never trailed and were up big by 15 going into the halftime break.

“We talked about this earlier in the week,” head coach Juan Alvarado said. “The girls keep telling me I need to have patience. And we saw tonight how plays can open up for us when we do that. The biggest thing for these girls today was working on our individual game instead of worrying about our opponent.”

Junior Jalyndria Jackson was also pleased with her team’s defensive output against Cottonwood Classic.

“We didn’t use to bond as sisters,” she said. “And now we’re starting to bond as a team. We’re pulling our team together as we get ready for district. Our offense has to improve, but we definitely feel like we have a chance this season to go all the way.”

On Jan. 7, the Lady Warriors won 60-49 against the Cuba Lady Rams on the road. The win puts them at 7-3. Next up for the Lady Warriors is a game against Bernalillo, Thursday, Jan. 13.