SAN MIGUEL COUNTY – Raw emotion, multiple plot twists, unlikely heroes, a cliffhanger-style conclusion.
In Telluride, that often summarizes something cinematic inside the famed Michael D. Palm Theatre. Such drama took place Tuesday night at Telluride High School's MinerDome, where fortunate fans were on the edge of their seats almost from the start, and later on with only 7.3 seconds left to play and visiting Bayfield set to inbound the basketball right in front of its own bench.
Once put in play, the rock didn’t remain in the offensive end long, as Telluride junior forward Emma Reggiannini stole it and charged the other way. But as she neared the basket, eager to send the game into overtime, Bayfield freshman Kimball Anderson managed to arrive just close enough to interfere with Reggiannini’s shot attempt as time expired, securing a 33-31 Wolverines victory.
It was the sort of hustle Bayfield coach Scott Key hoped to see from not just Anderson, but all his reserves in such a tight, back-and-forth battle.
“Next man up, you know?” Key said. “We know that we have a bench, and we’re learning to trust that bench. And we know that there are opportunities and times where somebody has to step up into a role – and at the end of the game, there were quite a few freshmen on the floor.”
Imposing her will within the Lady Wolverines’ full-court pressure late in the game, senior Genesis Barrera recorded at least three steals, a couple of rebounds and even blocked a couple of shots in the fourth quarter. In the end, she tallied a team-high 14 points.
With Bayfield (2-1) down 27-18, Barrera’s first two buckets closed the gap to 27-22 with 7:06 left, and Telluride coach Chris Murray alertly used a timeout.
The Lady Miners (0-5) then caught a break when Bayfield senior Madison Mead fouled out 14 seconds later. Held scoreless, junior Renae Foutz had already fouled out with 11.6 seconds left in the third quarter – allowing Telluride to focus more on Lily Muir, whose corner trey and seven total second-quarter points had swiped the guests a 14-13 halftime advantage.
“I was kind of nervous, to be honest because in the JV game I wasn’t making most of my shots,” Muir said “I think I got a little angry … but whatever happened in my brain, I was able to make my shots, have that aggression I’ve been striving for.”
Telluride senior Thea Rommel, who began the game with a confident three-ball, nailed another with 4:40 left to briefly stabilize the Lady Miners’ lead at 30-22. But Muir sank her third 3-pointer of the night with 3:49 to go, putting the Lady Wolverines back up 30-27. Forty-three seconds later, Telluride junior Tjarn Lyons, who had six points, fouled out, virtually negating whatever advantage Telluride had gained from Foutz’s and Mead’s exits.
Key then turned to his subs, and received quality minutes from Anderson, freshman Vivien Clance, sophomore Arriyanna Cundiff and sophomore Sylvia Hesford – who would foul out with 1:25 left in regulation, but not before slowing Reggiannini and sophomore forward Delia Noel, who missed two free throws with the score tied at 31-31.
Barrera tied the score with 1:42 left via a steal and layup. She then sank a short baseline jumper to put Bayfield ahead for just the fourth time all night and then promptly swatted aside a Rommel shot.
“Sylvia had an outstanding performance. Everybody was struggling to shut down their top scorer (Reggiannini), and Sylvia went in there and did an absolute bang-up job,” said Key. “And I think Genesis had one of those games where she kind of was in her own way. The first half it was kind of hesitation, hesitation, and then all of a sudden … it clicked.”
Muir scored 13 points for Bayfield, while Reggiannini scored 15 points for Telluride.
“The biggest thing for us, we’re learning to play with some confidence,” Key said. “We’re starting to understand plays, we’re starting to understand the system, and now it’s (going from) ‘Oh we’re showing up to play basketball’ to ‘Hey, we’re here to compete.’ We’re in a really, really tough league, so these beginning games are super important for us.”
Bayfield will return to the court 3:30 p.m. Friday at Del Norte.
