COLORADO SPRINGS – Win a regional championship?
Jaela Pedro was just relieved Saturday evening to be playing in one, much less emerge as its leading scorer.
But as it turned out, St. Mary’s needed every one of the sophomore’s game-high 18 points (eight during the third quarter) to rally past Ignacio, 45-38, in the 3A-Region VI championship game played on its home court.
St. Mary’s improved to 20-4 overall with the win. Ignacio fell to 9-14 overall with the loss.
“I’ve been in and out of the hospital this last week, so yesterday was actually the first day I actually came back fully prepared,” Pedro said, alluding to SMHS’ semifinal rout of Arvada-based Forge Christian. “I was really sick; I had the flu and RSV, then I came back after that. And us coming back (against IHS), (after) me being gone, it was just … a miracle, I guess.”
Picking right up where she left off after netting the game-winning hoop against Timnath in the second semi, however, Ignacio senior Darlyn Mendoza-Lechuga nailed two early 3-pointers in helping the Lady Bobcats take a quick 8-0 lead. She drained a third, pressing the Lady Pirates into using a timeout with 1:53 left in the first quarter and IHS up 11-2. Junior DaLaney Wesner made one of two free throws, closed out the quarter making a difficult running two-pointer over a defender – swelling the visitors’ lead to 14-2 after eight regulation minutes.
“They were knocking down their shots,” said SMHS head coach Caleb Strickland. “In a tough playoff when you’re making open shots … it’s going to be a game, and that’s exactly what they were doing. They played great defensively, took care of the ball well – they played a really good game.”
Too much time remained for the Lady Pirates, who rallied back to a 21-19 deficit at halftime – via senior Maeve Salveson’s three-ball over Mendoza-Lechuga after receiving an inbounds pass with 0:06.9 left until intermission – then finally pulled even at 21-21 when Pedro hit a long two-pointer with 7:39 left in the third quarter.
Sophomore Sydney Ramirez’s go-ahead cut to the basket then put the Lady Pirates up 23-21 with 7:08 to go, but a three by senior guard Maci Barnes helped IHS rebuild a 28-23 advantage before St. Mary’s, helped by two sharp Pedro cuts through the lane, stormed back ahead, 32-30, by quarter’s end.
Barnes began the final frame striking again from long range, but Pedro answered with a straightaway trey before the pace began to slow and fouls began to pile up against the Lady ’Cats. Senior center Solymar Cosio picked up her second, third and fourth personals within a 4:37 span and after SMHS junior Hope Chavez swatted away her three-point try, junior guard Marissa Olguin fouled out with 2:01 left in the game.
Sophomore Kylie Lyon made one of her two FTs, upping SMHS’ lead to 40-34, and Ignacio would get no closer than 42-38 via two Cosio FTs with 0:40 left. After helping the Lady Pirates then burn 17.3 ticks off the clock, Salveson was fouled and sank one of two tries. Senior teammate Aylin Luna Zamora then punctuated a 45-38 win by hitting two with 1.9 seconds left.
“Something that really changed throughout the game, was us just (having) more fun and being more comfortable,” Pedro said. “This victory was definitely one that we all deserved … after putting in our hard work throughout this season.”
Salveson finished with three threes and totaled 14 points. St. Mary’s finished 10-of-18 from the charity stripe during the fourth quarter, SMHS finished 12-of-25 with Salveson going 5-8 and Pedro 2-6.
“Those two are both tough,” Strickland said. “Jaela plays like she’s a junior or senior already, and then Maeve … she’s been there, done that for us, so you kind of can always count on that kid to come up big when she has to.”
Ignacio made seven of 13 free throws, with Cosio finishing 6-of-9. After booking just six points against Timnath, she improved to 14 against St. Mary’s while Mendoza-Lechuga, coming off a 13-point performance against the Lady Cubs, tallied a team-high 15 against the Lady Pirates.
“It feels really good,” Mendoza-Lechuga said, of winning once and being competitive both times in the tourney. “I really didn’t expect us to make regionals, honestly, but getting to the Sweet 16 was pretty awesome. I’ll never forget it.”
