New Mexico Activities Association (NMAA) logo.
LAS CRUCES — The Centennial girls basketball team beat Las Cruces, 47-43, in overtime on Friday to move up to first place in the Districts 3-5A rankings.
Las Cruces was 4-0 in the district game and riding a three-game winning streak that was snapped by the Hawks on Friday night.
The Hawks struggled on offense in the first quarter but turned on the Jets in the second quarter with a 7-0 run, helped by Arianna Trujillo, who made a layup in the paint followed by a hard and-one under the rim.
The Hawks led at halftime, led by Arianna Trujillo, who finished with 13 points, and Janessa Navarrete with 11 points.
Las Cruces came alive in the second half, beating the Hawks 26-20. Jaci Powers, who had a team high of 14 points, forced overtime with a layup 3 seconds from the end of regular time.
Centennial scored four points at the free-throw line from older Larissa Laborin in overtime, giving them a comfortable lead.
“We feel pretty good that we have a good team here,” said Centennial coach Louie Laborin. “Cruces is doing a good job so obviously we’re feeling pretty good.”
Laborin said the team has a lot of things to clean up before heading into the second half of the District game.
“We have a lot of good teams in the district,” Laborin said. “You have to play hard every night in this neighborhood; Every team is trained very well.”
“This win is great for our girls’ morale. They get what they deserve. They’ve worked hard and they’re sticking with it.”
Centennial now meet fifth-placed Gadsden at home on Tuesday.
Las Cruces travels to inner rival Mayfield on Tuesday.
This article originally appeared in Las Cruces Sun-News: Centennial Girls Beat Las Cruces in Overtime
Comments are closed.