It took the Bobcats a little bit to get going, but once they did, there was no stopping the No. 8 Ignacio High School girls basketball team.
After a slow start in the first quarter that ended tied 9-9, the Bobcats (9-0) began to dominate Sargent (4-5) and cruised to a 58-39 victory in a nonleague game Thursday night at Sargent High School.
“That first quarter was a good wakeup call for us to get ready for the pressure,” Bobcats head coach Trae Seibel said.
“Although (Sargent) may not be big, they were fast, they were scrappy. That first quarter, they really tested us and our ability to handle the basketball.
“Sargent, in their league, they have no choice but to play hard every single possession, and that was a good wakeup call for us.”
The Bobcats limited the Farmers to five points in the second quarter and held a 22-14 lead at halftime.
The third quarter was when Ignacio blew the game open, as it outscored Sargent 24-9.
The Bobcats didn’t have many adjustments at halftime, and Seibel said the swing in the game came from the team’s ability to find mismatches and exploit the Farmers.
“Our stress this whole year and really the stress with this program for years since my dad, Shane Seibel, was the coach is read and react. And that’s what the girls were doing,” Seibel said.
“The girls were able to find out who their scorer was and who the offense ran through and shut her down.
“We were able to find the mismatches, and that comes from the girls playing basketball and working on their intelligence of the game. Tonight, the girls were really able to execute because of their intelligence.”
Avionne Gomez led Ignacio with 24 points, and she dished out seven assists.
Morgan Herrera notched a double-double for the Bobcats with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Seibel said that as a team, the Bobcats hit 75 percent of their free throws, their highest percentage of the season.
Ignacio (5-0 2A/1A San Juan Basin League) will return to league play at 4 p.m. Saturday when the Bobcats will play at Norwood (0-7, 0-1 SJBL).
Boys Basketball
Boys BasketballThe Ignacio and Sargent boys basketball teams battled back and forth from the opening tip to the final buzzer, and when the buzzer sounded, it was the Bobcats who came away victorious, 48-44, Thursday night at Sargent High School.
The defenses shined in the first half. Ignacio held a 12-10 lead after the first quarter and took a 20-16 lead into halftime after Kai Roubideaux hit a pair of free throws with 0.3 seconds left in the half.
The offenses picked up a bit in the third quarter, but neither side created separation and they headed to the fourth quarter tied at 35 after Sargent’s Frankie Torrez hit a 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer.
The Farmers carried the momentum from Torrez’s 3 into the fourth quarter and built a 42-37 lead with a little less than five minutes remaining.
But the Bobcats didn’t go away and went on a 9-2 run that gave them a 46-44 lead with 1:06 remaining.
The Farmers had a chance to tie the game, but Torrez’s shot with about 15 seconds left was off the mark.
Roubideaux drew a foul with 10 seconds left and made both free throws to put the Bobcats up two possessions and secure the win.
Roubideaux finished with a game-high 19 points. Johnny Valdez and Lawrence Ruffin-Valdez added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Ignacio will play at Norwood at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
kschneider@durangoherald.com
