Hitting a late-season stride is always a good feeling and, Tuesday night, the Ignacio High School girls basketball team showed it is running on all cyclinders in a 63-35 win against the Mancos Bluejays.
Ignacio (10-3, 6-0 2A/1A San Juan Basin League) picked apart Mancos (4-7, 0-4) for the 28 point win.
“I felt we did really well,” said Ignacio guard Ellie Seibel said, daughter of Melanie and head coach Shane Seibel. “I’m learning to trust my teammates on the inside and out, and they’re trusting me, too.”
Seibel, who was battling a severe cold, finished the game with 16 points, five steals and four assists for Ignacio. The rise of Seibel’s production means Ignacio is able take advantage of its high-low offense especially with her guard play.
“We’re looking at exploiting mismatches and looking at high-low matchups,” coach Shane Seibel said. “I want to see if we can get Ellie more high-low matchups, having her play point guard, but also play in the middle.”
Hilda Garcia started the night slow but ended up with 14 points and three steals to go along with four rebounds. Alejandra Lujan finished with 10 points and two assists for the Bobcats, who are ranked No. 8 in the latest Associated Press poll.
Ignacio was ahead from start to finish despite a slow start. The Bobcats didn’t score their first points of the game until three minutes in. After that, the points came in droves.
Coach Seibel believed it was a game his team should win by a large margin, and it did just that.
“I saw some things to work on defensively, but this win is a self-evaluation,” coach Seibel said. “Each game we see the weaknesses and turn it around. Mancos played hard, physical and excited, I give them a lot of credit.”
Since Ignacio’s 52-43 loss to Durango, Ignacio has won four in a row including wins over Bayfield, Dolores and Dove Creek.
Nicole Hess led the Bluejays with 14 points and five rebounds. Jessica Gutierez had eight points and three assists.
Ignacio has back-to-back home games next, which both start at 5:30 p.m. On Friday, the Bobcats will host Ridgway and on Saturday will host Ouray.
jmentzer@durangoherald.com
