It’s going to take more than a winter storm and a four-point scoring error to stop the Durango High School girls basketball team.
The Demons (9-5, 1-0 5A/4A Southwestern League) watched a 31-27 lead turn into a 28-28 tie without a shot going through the hoop, but used the handicap as fuel for the rest of the second half as Durango beat Grand Junction Central 53-37.
Katrina Chandler was credited for 17 points to lead all scorers, but one of her five 3-pointers went uncounted and the senior really finished with 20 points. Hilda Garcia added 15 points in the win and sophomore Emma Hackett poured in seven points.
“I’m really proud of the effort the girls played with out there,” Durango head coach Tim Fitzpatrick said. “We have the ability to come out and play hard and overwhelm other teams with our intensity and the girls did that (Saturday).”
The Demons held a seven-point lead after the opening quarter, and stretched the lead to 15 points after a 13-2 run. The DHS advantage was 26-14 at halftime, but Central (8-8, 0-2 5A/4A SWL) came roaring back in the third quarter.
“They had a great start and I think we just get defueled a bit quicker than we should,” Warriors head coach Mary Doane said. “When you get down by that much early in the game, everthing needs to go your way to make up for it.”
At the start of the second half, everything was going the Warriors’ way, and they got a boost from the scoreboard as well. Central made a charge to start the third quarter with a 9-2 run that cut the deficit to five. Eventually, the Warriors tied the game when the scoreboard read 28-28, thought the DHS coaches and others in the building had the score at 31-27.
Luckily, it didn’t make a difference as Chandler got hot from the perimeter and numerous Demons pitched in at both ends, including Hackett. The sophomore was causing havoc on defense and grabbing rebounds in the midst of much taller upperclassmen.
“We did really well on defense and I think that was the key to our win,” Hackett said. “I just try to contribute however I can and not try to do too much. It’s easy with so many good players around me.”
Chandler and Garcia poured it on late in the game to retake command, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the quality effort from numerous role players. Taylor Dossey, Danielle Lee, Jordan Baker and Lily Chick were just a handful of the many Demons that played big minutes and made plays down the stretch for DHS.
“This isn’t something we can do with one, two or three players,” Chandler said. “It’s gotta be everyone. We’re not the kind of team where we can win with just one or two players having a big game. We’ve been building this program for years as a group and we aren’t going anywhere without team coming together as whole.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
