IGNACIO – The Bobcats got better and sharper with every minute on the court, as the Ignacio High School girls basketball team turned a first quarter battle with Dolores into a one-sided rout with a 54-19 victory Thursday night at IHS.
“Our thing tonight was seeing if we could overcome all the challenges and stuff that’s been going on,” IHS head coach Trae Seibel said. “Some girls are battling some sickness that’s for sure. For the girls to come back here tonight and play like this, I’m proud of them.”
The Bobcats also had to cope with the aftermath of an IHS classmate who was found dead on Tuesday. Seibel said the emotional and mental challenges the Bobcats dealt with this week played a factor in their slow start, but he praised the team’s ability to refocus and take control of the game.
It wasn’t a great offensive start for either side, and Ignacio (12-0, 7-0 2A/1A San Juan Basin League) got the first points of the game a little more than three minutes into the contest when senior Avionne Gomez threaded a long bounce pass through Dolores’ defense to a cutting Morgan Herrera for an easy layup.
After a quick Ignacio steal on the ensuing play, Gomez drained a jumper from just inside the 3-point arc that made it 4-0.
But Dolores (6-8, 5-3 SJBL) got back to its strong defense the rest of the quarter and trailed 6-5 at the start of the second.
Seibel praised the defense of the Bears.
“Dolores came to play,” he said. “They’re physical, they’re aggressive and they’re scrappy. It was a good wakeup call for us and challenge for us to match their physicality.”
The Bobcats began to pull away in the second quarter. Dolores’ defense kept the Bobcats in check, but Ignacio had more offensive chances thanks to its full-court press creating turnovers.
Behind the press, Ignacio held the Bears to one point in the second quarter and took a 20-6 lead into halftime, although the Bobcats’ advantage could have been much larger, as they missed several shots from close range they typically convert.
The Bobcats started the third quarter on fire and scored 10 points in the opening 2 minutes, 7 seconds.
As Ignacio was heating up, the Bears suffered a big blow when starter Tatum Majors fouled out with 5:53 remaining in the third.
Ignacio held a 31-9 lead late in the third, but the Bears closed the final couple minutes on a 5-0 run.
Similar to the third quarter, Dolores lost another player in the opening minutes of the fourth when Sarah Hamilton suffered a left shoulder injury. Then, less than two minutes later, Brenn Jeter fouled out.
“I thought the defense played well in the first quarter. Then the game got away from us with our girls getting hurt and knocked out,” Dolores head coach Tiffany Hill said. “I think the girls fought through and didn’t quit even though things were stacked against us, and that’s some self pride to take away with.”
Gomez led Ignacio with 21 points. Herrera dominated in the post with 11 points and 16 rebounds, 13 of which came on the offensive end.
Codi Archuleta and McKenzy Howarton led Dolores with three points each.
On Saturday, Ignacio will host Norwood (1-10, 1-2 SJBL), and Dolores will play at Nucla (3-11, 2-3 SJBL).
kschneider@durangoherald.com
