The Bayfield High School girls basketball team had a few brilliant possessions against Centauri on Monday night at BHS, and there were moments that made Wolverine fans believe they could pull off an upset against the No. 6 team in the latest Colorado High School Activities Association Class 3A poll.
As the second half progressed and each possession became more crucial, the Falcons would answer through a basket in the high post. It would be the difference, as Centauri captured a 62-48 win.
Bayfield (5-8, 2-4 3A Intermountain League) had its chances, and head coach Josh Kitchen was proud of his team’s fight.
“I’ve got to give the girls tons of credit to be in it the whole way,” Kitchen said. “We stuck with this Centauri team that’s incredibly talented, and we made it look like we were right there, and in many ways we are. But we still have some pieces to fill in before we’re really going to get over that hurdle and consistently beat teams like Centauri.”
Centauri (11-3. 3-2 IML) hit Bayfield with its post presence early in the first quarter, as it got out to a 19-6 lead. In the second, BHS climbed back behind the play of freshman guard Maddy Oltmanns, as she had nine points – half of Bayfield’s 18 points – in the quarter. BHS outscored Centauri 18-14 in the frame and were down 33-24 at halftime.
“Maddy is a dynamic player, for sure,” Kitchen said. “That’s what we love about her. She’s creative with the ball and can create her own shot and can hit open jumpers. She’s really been trying to find her way within this team, and maybe for the first time in her life she’s got girls around her who are strong enough to protect the ball, so she can dish the ball out for them to shoot a 3. She deserves a lot of credit for her effort tonight.”
Bayfield went on a 4-0 spurt to trim Centauri’s lead to five at the beginning of the third quarter with a basket from Macee Schultz. That’s when Centauri head coach Troy Reynolds emphasized the post game.
“We knew those looks were open, we just had to find some gaps in their defense,” Reynolds said. “Bayfield was really scrappy and got after it tonight. At halftime, we made some adjustments and told them to slow the game down a bit. We did a great job on the boards and got our posts to work together. If you can do that, you can be a really good team, and that’s where we want to be.”
Mia Garcia and Courtney Hamilton took over down low, as they combined for 12 points in the half and gave the Falcons a 50-35 lead. In the fourth, Bayfield got it to within seven, but once again the post play was too much to overcome for the Wolverines.
“It was just a rotational problem for us,” Kitchen said. “Being a young team, we’re starting to fill in those gaps, and for chunks of the game the defense was really strong. We then had a streak where we gave up eight (points) there, and you just can’t do that and come out with a win against a good team like they are.”
Oltmanns was Bayfield’s leading scorer with 15 points, while Brooke Merchant had 13 and Schultz had 11. Garcia led the way for the Falcons with 11, Hamilton had 10 and Breanna McDaniel had nine.
Bayfield will travel to play Montezuma-Cortez (4-8, 1-5 IML) at 5:30 p.m. Friday.
bploen@durangoherald.com
