Lady Warrior Faith Lucero tells coaches Jarrod Storey and Brittany McDaniel what she is seeing on the court against Cobre.
Russell Huffman | El Defensor Chieftain

Socorro’s win follows a 61-45 victory on the road against Hatch Valley and leaves the Lady Warriors as the only undefeated team in league play.

Against Cobre, Socorro shook off a slow start after leading 10-8 in the first quarter and took a solid 33-20 lead into halftime. Still, the Lady Warriors had problems transitioning from defense to offense.

“We transitioned a lot better in the second half,” Socorro coach Jarrod Storey said. “We can play fast, and we were doing that in the first half, but we were out of control, which led to some turnovers.”

Working the paint in the first quarter led to working from behind the arc in the second period, and Faith Lucero, Jazmine Alvarado and Tamra Fowler all found the mark that sparked a 23-12 run.

Fowler continued her hot-handed shooting in the third quarter as she nailed two more of her game-leading four three-pointers. Fowler’s game-high 21 points marked her second straight big game after a 20-point performance against Hatch Valley.

There was plenty of support from all over the court as Jaylin Gonzales, Lucero, Kaedyn Gonzalez and Alex Crespin contributed to Socorro’s 24-16 advantage in the third quarter.

There was a notable difference in the Lady Warriors’ approach to the second half.

“We knew we had better overall team speed against them, but we talked about slowing things down and staying in control,” Storey said. “I wanted them to pass the ball around and look for passes, so we aren’t turning it over. Our rebounding was a little rough early, but they started blocking out while rebounding and executing exactly the way we needed.”

The Lady Warriors’ only bobble was at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, where they made only 3-of-11 attempts after hitting 8-of-14 over the first three periods.

Socorro’s defense stayed strong and allowed only 13 points the remainder of the way, and when the final buzzer sounded, there was some notable confidence coming off the Lady Warriors’ bench.

“The girls had a little pep in their step and showed they had confidence,” Storey said. We talked about it today. We have a winning attitude, and now in district, they know they have a chance to win it. If we have that mentality – it will pay off on the court.

After a 3-17 start against some tough competition, Socorro has a legitimate shot at winning the district championship. The Lady Warriors will host their final home game of the season on Feb. 9 against Hatch Valley, and Socorro will also celebrate Senior Night.

Scoring

Jaylin Gonzales 5, Faith Lucero 13, Kaedyn Gonzalez 8, Jazmine Alvarado 10, Arian Crespin 1, Tamra Fowler 21, Alex Crespin 5.

Russell Huffman | Assistant Editor