Portales senior Tara Johnson drives to the basket in the second quarter of Friday night's game against Carlsbad. Portales won 35-32.

Momentum is a moody and fickle companion.

Momentum helped the Portales Lady Rams jump out to a dominating early lead Friday night at home against Carlsbad. The Cavegirls stole it back midway through the final period, the Lady Rams rallied for a 35-32 win in their final pre-district game.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Lady Rams (9-8).

“It’s very important (to open with a big lead) because it’s better for us to play with a lead early on,” Portales freshman Macy Mitchell said.

Senior Tara Johnson and junior Jenna Wagner hit early baskets to help Portales open an 11-2 lead. Then senior guard Taylor Lucero hit a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to give the Lady Rams a 22-12 cushion.

“I think we’ve gotten better over the last several games and I think we’ll be ready for district,” Mitchell said.

But sophomore Kali McCormick highlighted a Carlsbad run in the third quarter to pull the Cavegirls within seven points.

“We let them off the hook,” Lady Rams coach Clay Stout said. “We gave the momentum right back to them.”

Carlsbad (12-7) went from attacking Portales on the perimeter in the first half, to a more aggressive, inside offense in the second half.

“Defensively they were driving on us,” Stout said. “From that point on, we struggled to ever get the momentum and struggled to get back in sync again. Once you get the momentum early, you have to play smart to keep it.”

Johnson led the Lady Rams with 11 points, followed by Wagner’s eight.

Stephanie Franks led the Cavegirls with 11 points, followed by fellow senior Vianca Villegas’ 10 points.

“You really learn from games like this,” Stout said. “Sometimes when you get out of sync, you can still come up with hustle plays. Sometimes when you are out of sync, you find ways to win. The girls found a way to win. That’s always a positive. Sometimes it’s ugly, but you find a way to win.”

Portales begins District 4-3A action Tuesday night hosting Ruidoso.

“This is what we’ve been getting ready for,” Stout said. “Maybe we’ll put it all together and start playing the way we’re capable of playing.”