Rancho girls rally after blowing big lead, close out Cimarron

Rancho’s girls basketball team was on the verge of collapse Monday when coach Rick Campbell called timeout during the final minute of regulation.

The inexperienced Rams had committed four consecutive turnovers and thrown away a 17-point second-half lead.

But Campbell said just enough to calm his depleted lineup, and Rancho scored the final seven points to pull out a 44-38 victory at Cimarron-Memorial.

“I told them they had to get their heads back on straight,” Campbell said.

Darje Martin had 11 points, four rebounds and three steals to lead the Rams, overcoming foul trouble that kept her on the bench for much of the game.

Teammate LaKissa Martin also got into early foul trouble, forcing Campbell to go with a platoon of underclassmen.

“We had our two leading scorers sitting on the bench halfway through the second quarter,” Campbell said. “But I’m really pleased with the game we got from the bench. I’m proud of the way my young ones came in.”

The Rams (6-4) appeared to have the game in hand early, storming to a 16-7 first-quarter lead under the leadership of both Martins. But LaKissa Martin picked up her third foul at the end of the quarter, and Darje Martin committed her fourth with 5:43 left in the second.

After a surge by the Spartans (6-4), led by Taya Harper, Rancho scored the final 10 points of the half for a 26-15 lead, and quickly extended it to 32-15 in the third.

That’s when the game began to get away from the Rams. They scored only one point over the next 8:43, and Cimarron’s Emily Cox finally tied it at 37 with a 3-pointer with 1:55 left. Harper soon hit a free throw to put the Spartans ahead.

But a key offensive rebound and subsequent layup by Jordon Williams put Rancho back in the lead, and the Rams sealed it with free throws after Campbell’s calming timeout.

“Tonight we learned that even through adversity, if you hang together and keep digging, good things can happen,” said Campbell, whose team had 32 turnovers.

Kanosha Grey added nine points and LaKissa Martin eight for the Rams.

Harper had 14 points and five steals to lead Cimarron, which was hurt by 15-for-35 free-throw shooting. Kiana Carter had nine points and 12 rebounds.