They met last year in a similar situation.
The Ignacio High School girls basketball team beat Paonia 53-49 in the regional championship game to advance to the elite eight of the Class 2A state tournament. They’ll meet again at 7 p.m. Friday at Whalen Gymnasium at Fort Lewis College in the Class 2A Region 3 semifinals.
Paonia (17-5) returns eight players from last season’s team, while Ignacio retains six players from last season’s roster.
“It’s on their minds; the girls that experienced it last year,” said IHS first-year head coach Shane Seibel, who was an assistant coach on the IHS boys basketball team one season ago. “So they know what to expect. They know (Paonia is) a very good, quality team.”
The Eagles largely have the same record – 17-5 this year vs. 18-5 last year – but IHS endured a drastically different season.
The Bobcats lost 10 out of their first 12 games this season before rebounding to qualify for regionals. They went 16-9 in last year’s state tournament season before losing three players to graduation.
But that was last year.
This year, Paonia won three consecutive games before losing to Meeker 55-39 in the District 5 championship game.
“They are going to be a very physical and pressing team,” Seibel said. “They’re coached by one of, I feel, the best high school ladies coaches in the state. He’s been very successful and has a wonderful program.”
Scott Rienks coaches Paonia and has been there for seven years, and he led the Eagles to a state championship in 2010.
Carson Pipher leads the Eagles in scoring at 11.8 points per game, but four players average more than five points per game for Paonia.
No Bobcat averages double figures in points per game.
Gabriella Garcia leads IHS at 9.7 points per contest, while Cloe Seibel scores 9.2 per contest.
Paonia scores more points per game as a team compared to Ignacio (48.9 to 31.9) and grabs nearly seven more rebounds per 40 minutes.
Both teams turn the ball over just north of 14 times per game.
The winner of their semifinal will play the winner of Ridgway vs. Sargent at 1 p.m. Saturday.
“The pressure’s really not on us because of our slow start and playing such tough competition in the beginning,” coach Seibel said. “I don’t think that very many people thought we’d be here.”
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
