The Durango High School girls basketball season came to an end Tuesday night against No. 1 Pueblo South.
Durango started slow and couldn’t recover as the top-seed Colts came away with a 45-28 victory.
“I’ll take the blame for the slow start because I think we came out in the wrong defense,” Durango head coach Tim Fitzpatrick said. “And, you know, Pueblo South is a heck of a team. They did their homework and came out in a matchup zone. We just couldn’t knock down shots.”
The No. 16 Demons had a rare off night at the wrong time, and the Colts took advantage early. Just like the Demons did in their second-round matchup against No. 48 Thompson Valley, Pueblo South jumped out to a huge lead, and Durango was too far behind to recover.
The Demons (17-8) couldn’t buy a basket in the first half, and the Colts took advantage by building a 27-4 halftime lead.
Durango fought with a back to start the second half. The Demons outscored Pueblo South 13-6 in the third quarter, and cut the deficit all the way down to 12 at one point, but the slow start made a second-half comeback too tall of a task.
Pueblo South (23-2) pulled away down the stretch and moves on to face the No. 9 Golden in the Elite 8.
“This was a very impressive group of girls,” Fitzpatrick said. “They fought through injuries all season long and left it all on the court. The group of seniors isn’t just a good, tough bunch of players, but they’re great girls. They’ve done so much for the program and the school. I’m proud of each and every one of them.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
