Winning by large margins has become a regular occurrence for the Ignacio High School girls basketball team.
The Bobcats ran wild on the Ouray Trojans in a home game Saturday, winning easily 45-16.
“The girls are becoming very aware of what they need to do defensively, and they’re really working as a unit by moving together and taking on the weak spots on the other team,” Ignacio head coach Shane Seibel said.
Senior Ellie Seibel scored a game-high 16 points while going 5-for-6 from the free-throw line. Alejandra Lujan and Cortney Wilson-Baker both had six points, Avionne Gomez and Chrystianne Valdez both had five points.
“It feels like a relief to know my team is all pulling it together here at the end,” said Ellie Seibel, daughter of the coach and Melanie Seibel. “We are tenacious, we don’t give them anything. Our goal is that defense will win games.”
This is the fifth time Ignacio has held opponents under 20 points this season and the second time in as many games. Friday night, Ignacio beat Ridgway 67-15.
Ignacio (12-3, 8-0 2A/1A San Juan League) opened the game with a 10-0 lead in the first quarter as Ouray (6-7, 3-3) didn’t score its first points until 7:42 in the second quarter. Kayla Fairchild nailed two free throws to break the cold streak for the Trojans. Courtney Alvarez had six points and Sarah Pankow had four for Ouray.
Ouray played the majority of the game without its leading scorer Jordan Leo, who went down with a knee injury at the end of the first quarter.
As the defense kept the Trojans from scoring, the Ignacio offense was clicking with backdoor passes that coach Seibel has had his girls working on lately.
“They’re really looking for one another now on the backdoor,” he said. “Our offense is all about what the defense gives us, and so now we’re being really aware. We are improving game after game and that’s what I’m really emphasizing, getting better every single game and honoring our opponent. We don’t talk bad about them in any single way and we want to play our style of basketball.”
Next up for the Ignacio girls is a game against Ridgway on the road at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Ridgway High School.
jmentzer@durangoherald.com
