Kaedyn Gonzalez fights for possession of the basketball against West Las Vegas.
Russell Huffman | El Defensor Chieftain

Given the opportunity on Dec. 15 to get all of his players playing time, Socorro coach Brad Bailey split up his athletes into junior varsity and varsity squads. He prepared to take it on the chin because his Lady Warriors would be outnumbered against No. 5 West Las Vegas.

The No. 5 Lady Dons took advantage with lots of substitutions. The Lady Dons’ ability to run the legs off the Lady Warriors led to a 39-8 lead at halftime, but to Socorro’s credit, it was a 12-9 score in the second half.

Bailey’s disruptive zone defense created several shot rejection opportunities for Faith Lucero, who also led the Lady Warriors’ scoring with seven points.

Adding to Socorro’s numbers were Alex Crespin 4, Kaedyn Gonzalez 3, Jazmine Alvarado 2 and Jaylin Gonzales 1.

Bailey will get the opportunity to season his team with the Lady Warriors headed into two tournaments during the holidays. Socorro should get in seven games over a ten-day period.

Socorro won’t be at home again until Jan. 5, but it will be a big matchup for area basketball fans when Magdalena’s Steers come to town. The Lady Warriors then head to Tularosa on Jan. 7 and return to Socorro for a Jan. 12 game against Bernalillo.

Russell Huffman | Assistant Editor