A late-season surge put Tayler Dossey and the Durango High School girls basketball team into the state tournament. It also helped Dossey get on the radar of college coaches.
Dossey signed a National Letter of Intent with Lamar Community College in Colorado on Tuesday during a ceremony at DHS. She will play basketball for the Runnin’ Lopes next fall.
“A lot of my recruitment started during or after basketball season,” Dossey said. “When I looked at Lamar, I was really impressed with their facilities, their gym and their head coach. It was relatively late and after the season ended that things started to pick up. One thing led to another with LCC, and they ended up talking about offering me a scholarship to play, and from there it was an easy choice.”
Dossey will play under recently-named new head women’s basketball coach Kellen Fernetti, who took over Lamar after a previous stint at McCook Community College in Nebraska.
Dossey appeared in 58 games for the Demons over the course of her three-year varsity career. During her senior campaign, she led Durango in points per game (9.7), rebounds (5.4), and was second on the team in steals (1.9) and blocks (0.6). DHS finished the year 11-13 overall and 3-5 in the 5A/4A Southwestern League. DHS reached the first round of the Colorado High School Activities Association’s Class 4A state playoffs but fell 38-30 to Falcon. Dossey scored 10 points in the loss.
DHS head coach Tim Fitzpatrick said he always believed Dossey had the skills to play at the next level and was glad she found the right fit in Lamar.
“I think it’s really a tribute to Tayler,” Fitzpatrick said. “You know, if there’s any type of little lesson for other kids, it’s pretty clear to see. If you put the time in and work and you take care of things, there are opportunities that will present themselves, and she took full advantage of it. I think her best basketball is in front of her.”
Dossey, daughter of Kia and Richard, said one of the big reasons she chose Lamar was because of the school’s education program, as she intends to have an emphasis on elementary education. She also considered Otero Junior College, Adams State University and Fort Lewis College.
“It’s always been my dream to play college basketball, and I couldn’t have done it without my coach, Tim Fitzpatrick, my parents, teammates and everyone else,” Dossey said. “I’m looking forward to playing, and it’s been my dream to continue as far as I can to play basketball. ... It’s better late than never.”
bploen@ durangoherald.com
