Friday night’s league opener was a game first-year head coach Lana Killough can look back on as a game to learn from.
The Bayfield High School girls basketball team welcomed the Alamosa Mean Moose for the first game of the Class 3A Intermountain League season, and the Mean Moose proved to be too deep in senior leadership in a 49-31 win at Bayfield.
Senior Brooke Trujillo led the Mean Moose (3-6, 1-0 IML) with 19 points, as Bayfield (3-4, 0-1 IML) couldn’t swing any momentum to win two in a row. Alamosa senior Breanna Boyles gave the Wolverines fits all night in the post by scoring 15 points and grabbing six rebounds.
“We were on the road late against La Junta, so I was concerned with how we would recover, and it showed a little bit in the first quarter,” Alamosa head coach Kent Smith said. “But this win was extra special because it was a road win.”
Smith said his team played man-to-man defense most of the first half. Because Alamosa began to get into foul trouble, Smith switched his defense to full-court zone trap scheme. Despite being able to force Bayfield turnovers, Smith thought his team should have made more shots.
“We have been struggling shooting the ball lately, so I was pleased with how we finished,” Smith said.
Senior Courtney Bayless led the Wolverines with 11 points and eight rebounds. Bayfield out-rebounded Alamosa 24-17, but the Wolverines were unable to score on second-chance points. In fact, the Wolverines had trouble all night converting layups.
Freshman Tymbree Florian had 10 points and seven steals. But every time Bayfield stole the ball and set up scoring opportunities, the Wolverines gave the ball right back. Bayfield lost the turnover battle to the Mean Moose by giving it away 32 times.
“Basically we are focusing on the small steps,” Bayfield head coach Lana Killough said. “So getting a lot of steals is one of those steps. It’s very frustrating because we left a lot of points out there on missed layups. This was a winnable game.”
Bayfield started the game on top with a score of 12-7 after the first quarter. The Mean Moose would outscore the Wolverines 25-12 in the second half as Trujillo began to penetrate and find open lanes. If Trujillo didn’t make the shot, Boyles was there for the second-chance basket.
“They had a strong game all night,” said Florian, daughter of Ryan and Stephanie Florian. “We just couldn’t make those points drop. We have to work harder as a team. The next game I think we’ll be more mentally prepared.”
Florian added that Alamosa had one weakness, which was their passing.
The 3A Intermountain League will be a tough league for both teams. Friday was only Alamosa’s third win of the year and first in league, which should indicate how competitive 2016 will be. Coming off a winless season last year, Killough believes her Bayfield team will compete better in such a tough league.
“I actually think we have a chance to do well in league,” Killough said. “If we can fit all these pieces together and start playing to their potential then people are going to be amazed at what we can do.”
Midway through the third quarter, Bayfield junior Amber Johnson left the game with concussion-type symptoms and did not return. The loss of Johnson made Florian play the rest of the game. Florian fouled out with 10 seconds left, and Bayfield was forced to play with only four players to finish the game.
Bayfield is at home for its next game at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday against Piedra Vista.
jmentzer@durangoherlad.com
