Durango High School’s girls basketball team is well on its way to repeating as champions at Pueblo County’s Lady Hornet Holiday Tournament.
The defending tournament champions hung on to win their second game in as many nights as they beat Widefield High School 43-41.
The Demons (2-0) shot an impressive 9-for-12 from the foul line, which made a big difference in the outcome. Durango’s Katrina Chandler led all scorers with 23 points. Taylor Edwards finished with seven points, Danica Dudley added five points and Stephanie Basye had four in the win.
The Demons will look to make it three in a row Saturday against Vista Ridge. The winner of that game will play later Saturday for the championship.
“Widefield was a very athletic team, and they put the pressure on us early,” said Durango head coach Tim Fitzpatrick. “It was nice to see the girls make some adjustments and respond to their fast start.”
The Demons struggled to get going early in the contest and trailed 9-2 in the first quarter. Widefield’s size down low and pressure defense caused problems initially, but the defending Lady Hornet Tournament champions stuck with it.
Dudley’s tough post defense smothered the low post success Widefield (1-4) displayed early on and, when the stops started coming, Chandler took over.
“Katrina did everything she wanted to do,” Fitzpatrick said. “She made 3-point shots and took the ball to the rim at will. She basically did whatever we needed her to do and pretty much dominated the game.”
Up 29-23 at the half, the Demons were getting solid play from a variety of sources.
Jessica Lee and Riley Hall came off the bench to provide a lift. Fitzpatrick was very pleased with the collective defensive effort.
Chandler’s hot shooting and the defensive pressure from fresh legs off the bench resulted in the Demons extending the lead to 12 heading into the fourth quarter. They only allowed six Widefield points in the third quarter.
The clutch foul shooting and team defense in the previous quarters were enough to hold off the charging Gladiators, who outscored Durango 12-2 in the final quarter which, still, wasn’t enough to knock off the defending champs.
“They put the clamps on us in the fourth,” Fitzpatrick said. “But we took care of the ball and, even though we took some quick shots and went cold from the field, our defense got the stops when we needed to.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
