The Durango High School girls basketball team fell behind early and never recovered in a 72-23 loss to Piedra Vista on Tuesday night in Farmington.
“They did pretty much whatever they wanted,” DHS head coach Tim Fitzpatrick said of Piedra Vista. “They’re a good basketball team, and they shot the ball pretty well. We turned the ball over quite a few times, and they turned into easy layups. We’re lacking experience in the backcourt.”
Piedra Vista (5-1) took control of the game early and held a 47-14 lead at halftime.
“Our press defense and our intensity was really good at the beginning of the game,” Piedra Vista head coach Joe Reed said. “We’ve had a couple slow starts to games, so our focus was on defensive intensity. Going out and scoring 47 points in the first half was a pretty good accomplishment for us.”
While the loss was lopsided, there were some positives for the Demons.
Fitzpatrick said he continues to be impressed by the play of freshman Maddie McManus. Sophomore Jael Larson, who didn’t play in the team’s first two games, returned to the court and played well on the defensive end.
The Demons (1-2) also saw the return of senior Hilda Garcia, who missed the first two games with a hand injury.
Senior Elise Gilleland led the Demons with six points. Garcia added five and Danielle Lee finished with four.
Haillie Blackie led Piedra Vista with 15 points, followed by 12 from Elaina Watson
Durango will next play at the 22nd Hornet Holiday Tournament hosted by Pueblo County this weekend. The Demons will open the tournament against Pueblo County (2-1) on Thursday night in Pueblo.
Fitzpatrick said he mostly wants to see the Demons gain experience playing some quality teams during the weekend.
“I want to see them grow and compete; making improvements,” he said. “It’ll be good preparation for league.”
The Bayfield High School girls basketball team had trouble getting going Tuesday night.
Navajo Prep of Farmington hit the road to Bayfield and handed the host Wolverines a 61-32 loss inside Wolverines Gymnasium. Navajo Prep senior Martinique Larvingo came off the bench to score a game-high 17 points. She scored eight points in the second quarter and another seven in the third to build the Eagles’ lead.
Tiana Sandoval and Cheyanne Begay added nine points each for Navajo Prep (3-2). Bayfield (1-1) was led by 11 points from Jordan Lanning. Tymbree Florian, who finished with four fouls, had eight points in the loss.
Navajo Prep got to the foul line a bunch but struggled to convert. The Eagles were 6-of-16 from the free-throw line, while Bayfield was 4-of-6.
The Wolverines will travel to the Buena Vista Invitational Friday and Saturday. Bayfield will face Grand Valley at 5:30 p.m. Friday and Jefferson Academy at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Herald sports editor John Livingston contributed to this report.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
