BAYFIELD – Trailing only by two points going into the final quarter, Bayfield couldn’t dig deep enough to beat the Mean Moose.
The Bayfield Wolverines (6-11, 1-7 Intermountain League) fell 54-49 against the Alamosa Mean Moose (11-8, 5-3 IML) in their final regular-season game.
“We made some mental mistakes in the fourth quarter and didn’t put the ball in the basket as much as we needed to,” BHS head coach Bri Simbeck said.
Bayfield shot 6-of-11 from the field in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to get past Alamosa. A 2-for-8 night at the free throw line made matters more difficult for the Wolverines.
The first half was dominated by Alamosa’s Nicole Broyles, who scored 14 of her game-high 20 points in the opening half.
“She is tough, and you have got to play smart in order to play against her,” said Bayfield senior forward Jaida Ross, the daughter of Gene and Jamie Ross. “We had to double team her to keep her from getting the ball because she is who they depended on to score.”
Bayfield did its best to deny Broyles – who shot 10-of-14 from the field – the ball in the paint in the second half.
That’s when guard Marissa Manzaneres started giving the Wolverines problems. Manzaneres finished the game with 11 points, and Brooke Trujillo added 10 more on 5-of-6 shooting from the field.
Bayfield was led by Ross’ 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting. She also played a big part in helping Bayfield win the rebounding battle 29-22.
Although the Wolverines kept the game close, Alamosa played in front most of the way. Bayfield briefly led 23-21 before Alamosa reclaimed the lead for good at 38-36 before the end of the third quarter.
Bayfield guard Haley Clarke scored another 10 points in the loss for Bayfield.
The loss kept Bayfield in a tie with Monte Vista (7-11, 1-7) in last place in the IML. The two will compete in the league tournament play-in game next Tuesday. Simbeck said the IML “pigtail” game will be played at 6 p.m. at Bayfield.
“It is based on head-to-head point differential. We beat them at home by six and lost to them at their place by 11. We should own that tiebreaker,” she said.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
