The Durango High School girls basketball team was the highest seeded team to play Tuesday in the first round of the Class 4A state championship tournament, and they were certainly the top team in their contest.
Taking on No. 48 Regis Groff, No. 17 Durango cruised to a 62-17 win over the Fusion.
“I thought we played really well,” said DHS head coach Tim Fitzpatrick. “Our defense was solid, and we executed and did really well offensively.”
The Demons set the tone early, with senior Mia Whistler sinking an open 3-pointer on the team’s first possession. Mason Rowland then turned a steal into a fast-break bucket and Riley Campbell scored a layup to put DHS up 7-0.
Regis Groff got on the board after a Durango turnover, but the Demons responded with a 14-0 run.
Rowland turned two steals into four points, Campbell and Katelynn Sheppard came up with steals, Carter Nieman banked a shot in, Addie Neiman made a pair of layups while getting fouled, and Sheppard also hit a shot during the team’s run.
The Demons led 25-4 after the first quarter as eight players scored in the opening frame.
In the second, Durango kept Regis from scoring from the field while the Fusion only made 1 of 6 free-throw attempts. Senior Sydney Flores blocked a shot, assisted Campbell and scored after Rowland found her open in the paint, putting DHS up 31-4. Ellie White then scored twice, with Campbell and Rowland assisting her, and the Demons took a 35-5 lead into halftime.
“We moved the ball around and had some really nice team play,” Fitzpatrick said.
Durango’s bench played most of the third quarter, but DHS extended its lead to 53-16.
White scored four more points, Addie Neiman scored three, and Tyler Trujillo hit an acrobatic scoop shot in the third.
Durango’s starters returned to start the fourth, which had a running clock because of the 35-point mercy rule. Carter Neiman fought the Fusion to come up with an early rebound and passed to Rowland, who then found Flores open in the paint for a bucket. Rowland also made a basket while Campbell hit a pair of shots and DHS finished comfortably ahead, 62-17.
Rowland scored 16 points to lead Durango. Campbell scored 15, driving hard to the hoop for multiple layups. White added eight, Addie Neiman scored seven, Flores scored six, Carter Neiman and Whistler both scored three, and Sheppard and Trujillo each scored two.
“When we get balanced scoring like that, we’re a good basketball team,” Fitzpatrick said.
Lucinda Johnson also made her presence felt, blocking a late Fusion shot for a final exclamation point.
“I’m proud,” the coach said. “The girls worked hard and earned a home playoff game; this is the reward for all of their hard work all season.”
The Demons are now 16-7 overall and will next play at No. 16 Littleton (16-5) in the round-of-32 Friday. Littleton, and the other top 16 seeds, all received first-round byes.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge,” Fitzpatrick said about playing the Lions next.
Regis Groff finishes its season 10-13 overall after the first-round loss.
Scoring the 4A tournament’s top seeds were No. 1 Windsor (22-0), No. 2 Mullen (16-6), No. 3 Holy Family (19-3) and No. 4 George Washington (20-2).
While Durango was competing in the state playoffs, the district tournaments began for the 3A Intermountain League and the 2A/1A San Juan Basin League on Tuesday.
The Bayfield boys basketball team faced Montezuma-Cortez in the Intermountain League’s pigtail game, and pulled out a 60-54 victory to keep its season alive.
The teams were knotted 9-9 after one quarter, but the Wolverines managed to take a 23-21 lead into halftime. Lance Mazur hit two treys and scored 10 points for BHS in the third, helping the Wolverines go up 43-33.
Bayfield took its largest lead in the fourth, 51-38. The Panthers fought back and got within four of BHS, 55-51, but Isaac Ross answered with a clutch 10-foot jumper. Ross finished with 23 points, knocking down four 3-pointers and scoring 13 points in the fourth quarter for BHS. Mazur scored 12, and Jackson Queen added 10 for the Wolverines.
Sawyer Smith led Cortez with 15 points. Austin Wood added 12, and Gabe Crowley contributed 11.
Bayfield will next play at No. 1 Centauri Thursday in the district semifinals.
In the girls tournament, No. 5 Bayfield and No. 4 Montezuma-Cortez also squared off in on Tuesday. The Panthers won that contest 51-23 to end Bayfield’s season.
The No. 4 Ignacio girls basketball team hosted No. 5 Dolores on Tuesday in the first round of the SJBL tournament and scored a 50-15 win. IHS jumped out to a 15-1 lead after the first quarter and never looked back, limiting Dolores in each quarter to 1 point, six points, two points and six points.
The Ignacio girls will next play at No. 1 Cedaredge at 3 p.m. on Friday.
The No. 2 Ignacio boys basketball team was originally scheduled to play No. 7 Ridgway on Tuesday to begin their district tournament, but that game has been postponed to 5 p.m. Thursday at IHS because of the weather.
Joel Priest contributed to this report.
