Slowly but steadily, the Durango girls basketball team increased its lead against Greeley Central at home on Saturday afternoon in the second round of the 5A state playoffs. Then the Demons found their offensive rhythm in the second half and pulled away for a 52-29 victory.
No. 8 seed Durango’s defense was great in the last three quarters, only allowing 18 points after the first quarter. No. 25 Greeley Central’s Madison Sepeda was averaging over 18 points per game and was held to six points.
The Demons really spread the ball around in the second half, with six players scoring as Durango outscored Greeley Central 30-14 in the second half.
“We did a really good job defensively executing our game plan,” Durango head coach Lauren Moran said. “Sepeda was averaging close to 20 points per game; we really focused on shutting her down and Mariah (Maestas) did an incredible job face-guarding her … we held them to way under their average so I was happy with the defensive effort.”
Durango improved to 18-6 overall and moved on to the 5A Sweet 16 with the win. It was Moran’s first playoff win as the coach of the Demons.
Senior guard Mariah Maestas led the Demons with 20 points. Junior guard Claire Goodwin scored all of her 13 points in the second half.
Greeley Central finished its season at 13-12 overall. Aaniya Davis led the Wildcats with 14 points.
The Demons started up 4-0 with two great looks inside for layups. The Wildcats had trouble finding good shots early on.
Greeley Central mixed it up with a few different zone looks early on. Sepeda hit a contested 3-pointer from the wing to tie the game at 7. Maestas responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to put Durango up 13-7 with 2:40 to go in the first.
Durango shot a lot of 3-pointers toward the end of the third but couldn’t cash them in. Greeley Central’s quick guards got inside the paint, drew fouls and got to the free-throw line. Durango led 13-11 after the first.
“In the first half, we didn’t take advantage of being patient on offense and getting the ball inside as much as we should have,” Moran said. “We made some threes, but seeing their defense in zone and man, if we cut hard to the basket, was patient for those cutters and set screens away from the ball we could get layups.”
The Demons started the second quarter with a great play. Senior forward Ellie White got the ball around the free-throw line, found the cutting Maestas who finished plus the foul.
Durango struggled with turnovers and attacking the Greeley Central defense in the middle of the second quarter. Moran called a timeout with Durango leading 15-11 with five minutes left in the half. Maestas hit a 3-pointer out of the timeout.
The Demons’ defense was great to start the second, holding the Wildcats scoreless for the first five minutes. Greeley Central got out in transition to end the half but Durango still increased its lead to 22-15 at half.
Maestas continued her strong play to start the third quarter as Durango was active early, getting in transition for easy scores. A Maestas transition layup put Durango up 28-15 with six minutes left in the third.
Goodwin got going offensively in the third quarter. Senior guard Lilly Fitzpatrick showed some great hands on defense and was rewarded with a look inside. She hit two free throws to put Durango up 34-17 with 4:10 left in the third.
A 3-pointer by Goodwin put Durango up 39-20. The Demons’ offense slowed down at the end of the third and Durango took a 39-24 lead into the fourth.
Greeley Central cut Durango’s lead to 39-28 with 6:30 to go after a long 3-pointer by Sepeda. Durango wasn’t as crisp on offense early. The Demons responded with three scores inside to increase their lead to 45-28 with five minutes to go.
Great passing allowed Durango to pull away even more in the fourth. Moran put her subs in and the seniors got a round of applause as they exited the game.
Durango will play No. 9 Montrose at home on Wednesday night in the Sweet 16. Montrose has beaten Durango in both matchups this season.
Moran is excited for the opportunity to play Montrose again and have a do-over after losing two fourth-quarter leads to the Red Hawks this season.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
