Ranked or not, momentum is the best thing any Intermountain League girls' basketball team can have when facing powerhouse Centauri.
That's what Bayfield has now as they await, weather permitting, CHS' 5:30 p.m. visit to BHS Gymnasium Friday evening, Jan. 18. Off to a 9-2 overall (1-1 IML) start under new coach Troy Reynolds, the Falcons will hit town ranked #3 in the most recent CHSAANow.com Class 3A poll, released Monday.
Going in against Sargent on the road, the Wolverines appeared to have all pistons pumping in unison, paced by senior guard Tymbree Florian.
Snow in the San Luis Valley and on Wolf Creek Pass had prevented Alamosa from visiting the night before, but it didn't deter Bayfield from trouncing 2A Sargent. Scoring six of BHS' 16 second-quarter points, Florian again led the way with 18 total points as the Wolverines climbed to 4-4 overall (1-0 IML) with a 43-39 victory.
The Farmers (4-6 overall) were just three days removed from winning their Southern Peaks League opener and third straight date overall, but Bayfield earned a third straight 'W' themselves as sophomore Cayanne Carlson followed up a breakout 18-point performance versus Cortez with another eight points at Sargent.
On Saturday, Florian booked a game-best 19 points as BHS began league work with a 53-47 home win over Montezuma-Cortez. Florian sank two clutch technical-foul free throws with 9.3 seconds remaining.
Sophomore center Macee Shultz, who netted 17 against the Panthers, scored all six of her points against Sargent during the third quarter, and guard Maddy Oltmanns also finished with six. Schultz and Carlson drilled two free throws inside the final 10 seconds to secure the win in Cortez.
SCHEDULE SHUFFLE: The BHS girls' C/JV/V non-league games at 4A Durango on Tuesday, Jan. 22, have been moved to Monday, Feb. 11, with the C-team contest getting the night started at 4 p.m. and the JV and varsity games to follow
