The Durango High School girls basketball team continued to play some fierce defense on Thursday against Piedra Vista in Farmington. The Demons held the Panthers to just six points in the first half to take a 20-point lead into the break and eventually won the game 46-19.
“We played good, solid team defense,” said DHS head coach Tim Fitzpatrick. “We turned up the pressure a bit.”
Mason Rowland in particular got in Piedra Vista’s passing lanes and swiped 10 steals in the game. Rowland also scored a game-high 19 points to finish with a double-double for DHS.
Halle Peterson added 11 points, Carter Neiman scored five and Adde Neiman scored four.
“It’s nice to have everybody back,” Fitzpatrick said. “We have a lot of players that can score so we don’t have to rely on one person to carry the load.”
The win was Durango’s seventh straight, all on the road. DHS is now 7-1 while Piedra Vista slid to 3-5.
“We’re just so deep,” Fitzpatrick said. “I have 12 kids who can come in and contribute.”
The coach also said Riley Campbell has played really well the last couple of games. “She’s doing a lot of little things really well,” he said.
During Durango’s winning streak, the Demons’ closest game was a 41-30 win over Lewis-Palmer. The Demons, ranked No. 10 in Class 5A by CHSAANow.com, also beat Cheyenne Mountain by 21, Liberty by 16, Ignacio and Centauri both by 14 and Cedaredge by 40.
“I’m just really proud of the kids and the consistency they’ve shown, not just from game to game, but also within each game,” Fitzpatrick said.
The Demons will play one more game before the holidays, Wednesday at Pagosa Springs (0-6). Durango will then return to the court Jan. 10 in New Mexico at Bloomfield (4-2).
