West girls now 5-0 after win in Socorro

Michelle Tapia dominated the paint again on Tuesday night in Socorro, leading West Las Vegas to a 47-27 tally against the host Lady Warriors.

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Michelle Tapia eyes the basket during a free throw in a recent WLV game.

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The Lady Dons stayed unbeaten at 5-0; three of the wins have come on the road.

Before returning home to Gillie Lopez Gym, they’ll test that road prowess this weekend at the second annual Capital City girls’ basketball tournament in Santa Fe.

The tourney runs through Saturday.

Tapia has excelled in getting to the offensive glass and scoring on putbacks or earning trips to the foul line. A good free-throw shooter most nights, she typically makes opponents pay via free throws. On Tuesday, she scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for a double-double in the win at Socorro (2-2).

Fellow Lady Dons Deanna Bustos (12 points), Celeste Trujillo (five points, six boards, seven assists), Jayme Quintana (six points, five steals) and Maya Roybal (four points, seven boards) also played well.

The game was competitive early, with West taking a modest 13-10 edge through the first quarter.

But the Lady Dons put together a strong defensive stretch in the middle of the contest. They held Socorro to four points in the second period to take a 23-14 halftime advantage.

In the third quarter, West was even stingier, limiting the Lady Warriors to a single free throw on offense, while ringing up 18 points on the other end of the floor.

That left a 41-15 chasm for Socorro to try to bridge in the final eight minutes. The lady Warriors outscored WLV 12-6 but it was far from sufficient.