Geared for quick acceleration out of traffic, and still with plenty of fuel to burn, senior forward Miriam Fernandez-Lopez had all eyes staring at the No. 10 leaving them in her rear-view mirror as she put the finishing touch(es) on the first of Ignacio's consecutive blowout wins last weekend.
"We've been talking about boxing out, rebounding and hitting our transition-strong-side releases-and she's catching on," said Head Coach Shane Seibel. "They get the rebound.get down the court and make sure you're available, ready to shoot the ball! And she did! Made layups, she's running the floor.it was awesome!"
The scary part: Her six (yes, six) fourth-quarter breakaway baskets versus Ridgway produced almost as many points for IHS in just a couple minutes as the Demons managed collectively in losing by 52, and almost as many as Ouray would manage the next afternoon in falling by 29.
And even scarier, the Bobcats blasted both without sophomore guard/forward Hilda Garcia's services.
To be fair, neither RHS nor OHS mounted the resistance experienced by Ignacio in seasons past:
Ridgway is not only learning under new head coach Adam Dubroff this winter but doing so without several members of last year's squad (currently playing club volleyball instead), and now existing without graduated threats Jackie and Miya Saunders and others. Ouray goes- using Coach Craig Kaminsky's words-only "six-and-a-half" deep. On his seven-player roster, one can only play for one to three minutes at a time due to a heart condition.
But in prevailing 67-15 and 45-16, respectively, IHS played their style of game and only their style.
"That's really been our Number One thing all year," Seibel said. "You've got to be in control of you and your effort and attitude. That's important for us to build on.an important concept right now, not to underestimate our opponents. We have to just play them and play to the best of our ability."
Fernandez-Lopez finished with a game-high 14 points against Ridgway, though sophomore Avionne Gomez did crucial damage early with all her 12 coming before halftime, when Ignacio's lead was already up to 30-8. Senior Gibran Silva netted the first seven of her 10 points during the first quarter, after which IHS led 15-6.
Junior Alejandra Lujan chipped in nine, seniors Ellie Seibel and Cortney Wilson-Baker each booked seven, and senior Chrystianne Valdez and sophomore Allisianna Baker each scored four. RHS got five from sophomore Hailey Emanuel, four each from senior Brynne Skalla and junior Emma Copp, and two from soph Alize McCarty.
Ellie Seibel's 16 led IHS (12-3, 8-0 2A/1A San Juan Basin League) against the Lady Trojans, who found themselves trailing 10-0 after the initial eight minutes and 21-7 at intermission. Two of Courtney Alvarez's team-best six points then accounted for the guests' only third-quarter scoring while the Lady 'Cats increased their advantage to 32-9 with only a quarter remaining.
"They're getting better and better as we move along," said Shane Seibel. "Our guard tandem now between Chrystianne and Cortney, and with Hilda there too-and Avionne-we're really figuring out our full-court pressure and being able to apply it."
Lujan and Wilson-Baker each scored six for Ignacio, Valdez and Gomez each finished with five, Baker four and Fernandez-Lopez a far more mellow three. Senior Sarah Pankow scored four for Ouray (6-7, 3-3), Kayla Fairchild had three, Jordan Leo two and Lauren Fairchild one.
Up next for the Bobcats - down a notch to #9 in this week's CHSAANow.com Class 2A top 10 - will be today's trip to and rematch with Ridgway, which lost 50-33 at Mancos while Ignacio hosted OHS. Tomorrow IHS hosts Nucla in more SJBL action, after the boys' JV faces the 1A Mustangs' varsity in non-league play.
