Durango opened the game by honoring head coach Tim Fitzpatrick for his 200th career win picked up Saturday at Grand Junction Central. The Demons walked off the floor Tuesday after helping the coach earn win No. 201.
“That just means someone is getting old,” Fitzpatrick said.
Fitzpatrick, who coached the DHS boys team for a decade, took seven years off before he took over the DHS girls for the 2014-15 season. Tuesday night inside the DHS gymnasium, he picked up his 69th win with the girls program.
It came against cross-county rival Bayfield, who DHS hadn’t played since Fitzpatrick’s second game back Dec. 6, 2014. While the Wolverines came out hot and took a 4-0 lead early, an Emma Hackett 3-point basket for the Demons settled the home team down. After Hackett’s 3 and a big basket by Brenna Wolf, Tayler Dossey got hot and helped DHS go on a 13-2 run that put DHS up the rest of the game en route to a 40-27 win.
“We came out a little tentative,” Fitzpatrick said. “We changed some things up, kind of got after what we typically do with our defense.”
A trademark of Fitzpatrick teams, DHS (10-12, 2-5 5A/4A Southwestern League) got started offensively by playing strong defense. Multiple steals at halfcourt led to fastbreak chances. Dossey scored eight of her game-high 14 points in the first quarter with a pair of 3s and a fastbreak layup off a steal of her own to help push DHS to a 13-6 lead after one quarter.
“It was great. We were shooting gaps,” Dossey said of the steals. “It was great to see the guards get the steal, go down the court and trail them and see them score.”
Both teams scored only four points in the second quarter, but the game broke open in the third, as Durango scored 13 and Bayfield scored 12 to make it 33-22 Demons going to the fourth. Bayfield’s early turnover problems largely disappeared in the second half as the Wolverines (7-11, 3-6 3A Intermountain League) settled into the game.
“(Fitzpatrick) kind of spaced them out, running traps for us on any corner,” BHS head coach Josh Kitchen said. “His girls did a really good job about being patient. That kind of freaked our girls out a little bit. We made passes that they probably didn’t need to make. It’s amazing how when you play great defense how the perception changes. Even if the spaces aren’t there, it seems like they are.
“I think as the game went on, our girls got better, and I was proud of them for that. I think (Fitzpatrick) actually pulled the defense off because he saw our girls were starting to break it down a bit.”
Durango’s lone struggle in the first half came against BHS sophomore center Macee Schultz, who had five points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots. Schultz finished with six points, 15 rebounds and six blocked shots. Kitchen said she is going to be a problem for opponents in coming years as she develops her offensive game.
“It was really good competition down low,” Schultz said. “I was trying to get above everybody and grab the ball and be strong with the ball.
“Playing Durango, it’s really motivating. Playing in our good league and against teams ranked higher helps us. This tough competition makes us better as a team.”
Tymbree Florian led BHS in scoring with eight points, while Brooke Merchant scored seven, with six in the second half. BHS missed 12 free throws in the game on 19 attempts. Some of that could be attributed to fatigue, as the Wolverines played Monday night on the road in Telluride, where they came up with a 37-26 victory behind Cayanne Carlson’s 11 points and another eight from Schultz.
Behind Dossey’s 14 points, Durango had six points each from Hackett and Emma Fitzgerald on Tuesday. The Demons made four 3-pointers.
Kitchen said his team hasn’t been consistent enough with outside shooting to keep up with teams such as Durango. For the Demons, outside shooting has been a recent revelation.
“It’s huge, and it’s been coming,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s a tribute to the team not getting down, staying positive and keep working through. We’ll take this win. Bayfield is a good team. Now we have to get ready for Grand Junction.”
DHS, which entered the game ranked No. 33 in the Class 4A RPI that determines the state tournament field, is confident it will make the playoffs for a seventh consecutive season regardless of Friday’s senior night result against the Tigers.
Meanwhile, the Wolverines are hoping to end the season strong at home Thursday against Pagosa Springs.
Kitchen hopes it won’t take another three seasons for the Wolverines to see the Demons again, too.
“It’s a neat rivalry,” he said. “I was at the middle school and we looked forward to the Escalante and Miller games. We recognize these Durango girls from those days, and it’s neat to have the cross-town thing. I’d love to keep it going. Obviously, we want to compete. I think if we can get more games like this that are competitive all the way through, it benefits both teams. There’s something between Bayfield and Durango in this area, and it’s nice to be part of that and be in a game that contains these two teams.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
