The Ignacio High School girls basketball team made quick work of its opening round matchup with the Ridgway Demons in the Colorado High School Activities Association Class 2A District 3 Tournament on Friday afternoon in Cortez.

It was over by the time the Bobcats touched the ball, scoring at ease on their way to a dominating 78-10 first-round win. It was the ninth time Ignacio held its opponents under 20 points in the season.

“I’m just really excited that they’re getting better every game,” said Ignacio head coach Shane Seibel. “We didn’t want to have a letdown game. We needed to play physical.”

Every Bobcat on the roster scored for Ignacio, and Hilda Garcia led the No. 1 Bobcats (16-4) with 17 points and 11 steals.

Seibel added that his team learned a lot from their loss to Norwood on Feb. 19, particularly when it comes to playing physical defense. Ignacio had no problem with its defense, totaling 31 steals.

“This was a complete game effort on defense,” Seibel said. “This was the best all year. We didn’t give up anything, no open shots.”

Avionne Gomez scored 15 and Miriam Fernandez-Lopez added 13 points and five rebounds, as Ignacio overwhelmed No. 4 Ridgway (6-15).

“(Miriam) really held her own (Friday), I was impressed,” Seibel said.

It was the third time Ignacio has beaten Ridgway this year with all three games coming by an average of 51 points.

Ridgway will play Mancos at 9 a.m. Saturday at Montezuma-Cortez High School for the third-place game. The top three teams in the District 3 Tournament advance to the state tournament.

Ignacio will turn its attention to Dolores for the title game, which will be played at noon Saturday at Montezuma-Cortez High School.

“The girls are focused on getting better. Whoever we play we’ll have to get after it. The girls are on a mission,” Seibel said.

jmentzer@durangoherald.com