Unable to connect from long range for two quarters Tuesday evening in enemy territory, Tinsley Aspromonte couldn’t wait to get a ball in her hands and practice her 3-point shot for the last three or so minutes of halftime.
Still, nothing really fell for Mancos girls basketball’s skilled sophomore.
But with the visiting Jays already making a comeback in Ignacio, Aspromonte and her backcourt teammates recognized the squad would benefit more if its attack was moved much closer to the hoop. Their realization led to Mancos beating Ignacio 39-33 in Ignacio’s home opener.
After trailing the Bobcats – making their 2025-26 season debut – by four points, 13-9, after eight regulation minutes and by just two, 18-16, through 16, MHS started the third quarter with two buckets inside by senior Caylee Moore, plus a near-trey by senior Destiny Kramer in regaining the upper hand for keeps.
IHS head coach Travis Nanaeto quickly called a timeout with 5:55 left in the quarter and the home team trailing 22-18, but after senior Juliann Avila knocked down a midrange stop-n-pop jumper, the guests countered with a 7-0 burst from which the Bobcats never recovered.
Though junior Aubree Lucero, stepping up her game with senior Alyssa Atencio benched by her fourth personal foul (received with 3:22 left), would close out the third with a confident 3-pointer, then start the final frame with a deuce cutting Mancos’ lead down to 27-25, Ignacio got no closer.
“I keep telling the girls to have a strong defense and the offense will follow,” said MHS head coach Julie Oliver. “And getting those post entries in, finally, kind of started getting the momentum of the game going big-time.”
Kramer totaled 12 points while Moore, just as problematic in the post, racked up a game-high 13. Helped by six second-quarter points, Aspromonte managed to total 10.
Senior Tyla Henry failed to score, but came away with no fewer than four second-half steals in helping the Jays (1-2 overall) log their first win after going without at Sargent’s tournament on Friday and Saturday.
“She’s actually kind of gotten thrown in at point guard, so she’s still trying to figure that out,” Oliver said. “But her defense has improved so much; she’s very aggressive, very quick and puts on a lot of pressure, and she’s amazed me so far with the improvements she’s had.”
Having also closed out the first quarter with a trey, Lucero finished with 12 points to pace IHS (0-1 overall) in defeat. Atencio managed to total 10 points after going 6-of-11 from the charity stripe,
Ignacio will travel out to Center for the C-Town Showdown on Friday and Saturday while Mancos will take part in Cedaredge’s Grand Mesa Classic on the same days.
