Feeling a bit overlooked, the Durango Demons made sure to be noticed Saturday.

Durango High School (9-12) claimed fifth place in the Class 4A Southwestern League/Western Slope League District Tournament with a 54-30 victory against Steamboat Springs (12-11) on Saturday in Grand Junction.

The Demons entered the tournament as the lowest seed at No. 8 and gained confidence after wins against No. 6 Steamboat Springs and No. 4 Eagle Valley.

“We all kind of felt we could have been seeded higher than we were,” DHS head coach Nancy Smith said. “We lost to No. 1 Glenwood Springs (in the first round), but that made the girls all the more determined the next two rounds to show people we have a strong team.”

DHS junior guard Katie Wiegert scored 19 points for DHS, while senior forward Emily McCue had 17 points and six rebounds.

Smith said the game was won with strong defense, especially that of senior Jenny Wellbourn, junior Emily Fogel and freshman Katrina Chandler.

“They shut down (Steamboat’s) guards. They could hardly get it past half court against our press,” Smith said.

DHS will know its state tournament fate Sunday afternoon when the Class 4A bracket is released. Smith isn’t expecting her team to have a home game because of its sub .500 record, but she hopes the committee looks at the team’s 6-3 finish to the season as proof the team has improved along with its health.

“It took us until the end of the season to get all the girls healthy. I have no idea how they will look at our overall record, but I hope they look more at the end of the season,” she said. “I imagine we will be somewhere between a 10- or 12-seed, and we will probably have to travel somewhere on Tuesday.”

heraldsports@durangoherald.com