Dolores girls basketball head coach Michael Nielson is probably ok that he nearly lost his keys and ID after his Bears took down Bayfield 54-49 in a wild overtime victory.
“They played these same girls last year and lost by 20, but this year they have really high hopes,” Nielson said. “They’ve really bonded together in the last couple of days, they’ve just worked their butts off, conditioned really hard …. and I couldn’t be prouder.”
“We are varsity-only, and … yeah, we actually kind of expected to get a little bit beat-down, because we did lose last year,” said sophomore Emilynn Hill, whose two-point runner – resulting from junior Bryley Paul’s defensive steal at the other end of the court – with less than a minute left in regulation re-tied the score at 47-47. “But we kind of knew a little coming in, and … yeah, we did have a chance.”
Already minus three of their roster’s listed 10 players, DHS (1-0 overall) lost another three to fouls during the contest, but saw their odds improve when BHS sophomore Grace Brown fouled out with 34.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Bears, however, couldn’t capitalize and were lucky a traveling violation called against senior Kacey Schmittel with 0:08.2 left wasn’t then converted into a buzzer-beating baseline scoop shot by BHS junior Vivien Clance.
Clance then won and slapped the jump ball beginning the bonus four-minute overtime session to sophomore Kieley White Thunder, but neither team crept ahead until Hill sank a mid-range baseline pullup with fewer than three minutes remaining. Dolores had just lost junior Akaia Edwards to her fifth personal with 3:03 left on the clock, leaving the guests with only four active players.
Nielson used a full timeout with 1:50 to go, and just four ticks later senior Taylor Erautt nailed two free throws upping DHS’ lead to 51-47. She sank another after White Thunder, hindered by calf muscle cramping, fouled out with 1:19 left and, after Clance netted her last 2-pointer, went back to the charity stripe for a chance at a 3-point play with hardly 20 seconds remaining.
Fouled on her successful jumper by BHS freshman Ariee Hurlbut, Erautt bricked the bonus – leaving her 3-of-7 from the line in OT, and 6-of-11 for the game – but the Wolverines’ final attempted pass into the paint ended up in Schmittel’s hands just before time expired.
“The star – to me – of that was Schmittel. She really played some hellacious defense … really did everything I asked of her and just kept going and going and going,” said Nielson. “Taylor, she’s our captain for a reason; she leads not just on the court but in the classroom – she leads by example.”
Erautt totaled a game-high 17 points and Hill booked 11, while sophomore Jordyn Erautt chipped in nine. As did junior post Autumn Settles, whose first six came during a foul-filled first frame in which a 7-0 burst, following an Edwards free throw with 6:22 left, put Dolores up 8-1 and ultimately helped the visitors take a 16-10 advantage into the second stanza.
Bayfield (0-1 overall), however, began the second on an 8-1 run and regained the lead at 18-17, via a breakaway layup by sophomore Natalie Osendorf, with 3:33 to go until halftime. Nielson burned a timeout, and though Hill responded with a layup, Clance then converted an Osendorf pass into a go-ahead scoop. After White Thunder (8 points, 2-5 FT) re-tied the game at 21-all via a free throw with 2:14 left, BHS finished the quarter outscoring DHS 7-3, and a Hurlbut FT with 0:13.3 remaining grew the Wolverines’ lead to 28-24.
Dolores battled back in the third quarter, but Bayfield still maintained a 35-33 edge going into the fourth – and still led 45-43 when, with 3:36 left in regulation, the younger Erautt became the first to foul out. BHS senior Arriyanna Cundiff (2 points, 2-4 FT) followed suit 16 ticks later, and Settles sat with 1:37 remaining. Bayfield then lost junior Kimball Anderson (6 points, 4-5 FT) with 1:11 left, but boss Ben Martinez’s bunch still held a 47-43 lead until Taylor Erautt hit two FTs with 1:01 to go.
“We got a little tired but we kept pushing; we always know we can push a little bit more,” Clance (16 points, 0-5 FT) said, “and … can definitely get better. We have passion – which is what we need – and we can use it.”
All told, Bayfield netted just 13 of 31 free throws; Dolores made 13 of 30.
DHS will next compete from Thursday to Saturday in Mosca at 1A Sangre de Cristo’s 2025 Thunderbird Shootout. The Bears were to first face the tourney’s host team at 6 p.m. on Thursday, then clash with either 1A La Veta or 2A Dove Creek the next day.
“We’re going in with seven (players),” Hill said, “but we are definitely looking forward, heads high, to this weekend. And knowing how well we started (with) this game just sets off the energy to keep going.”
BHS, meanwhile, will next travel to 1A Creede on Dec. 12. Another of the eight teams gunning for the Shootout’s title, the Lady Miners won their season-opener on Tuesday by defeating aforementioned La Veta 40-29.
“We know what to work on: Definitely a lot of everything … all around,” said Clance. “We’re a young team, and since everyone’s very new to the sport I think we’ll have such a connection that’ll definitely get better throughout the season.”
