DURANGO-Resting blistered feet after an exhausting effort, Durango's Katrina Chandler had no hesitation about hanging out with Ignacio's Hilda Garcia and discussing the clash inside Fort Lewis College's Whalen Gymnasium.
"We've been playing with her since we were little," said Durango's junior guard of Ignacio's sophomore.
So basically there was no panic, just a solution to try after Garcia began Tuesday's test with a three-pointer.
"That's their Number One," Chandler said, indirectly also identifying Garcia's jersey. "She's a great ball-handler, has a lot of moves, and she's really strong with the ball. We just wanted to get it out of her hands.come in and play our hearts out-and we did!"
But despite fellow junior Stephanie Basye's outstanding second half, that "we" wouldn't have been successful without three clutch Chandler shots right when Tim Fitzpatrick's Demons needed them most. DHS won the neutral-site, cross-county showdown 52-43.
DHS countered Garcia's early efforts with nine unanswered points, but senior Ellie Seibel's short jumper midway through the opening quarter started a gutsy IHS comeback. Senior Shilo Gillen's two free throws with 24 seconds left kept the designated "home" team ahead through eight minutes. The "away" side only trailed 11-8 and quickly cut the lead down to 11-10 with junior Alejandra Lujan crashing inside for a bucket.
Ranked eighth in the CHSAANow.com Class 2A poll going in, the Bobcats (6-3, 3-0 2A/1A San Juan Basin) were able to then slow the pace drastically and eventually pull even, 14-14, via sophomore Avionne Gomez's layup with two minutes remaining until halftime. Cue Chandler.
Working with her teammates to milk the clock down to zeroes, Chandler coldly canned an 18-footer at the buzzer to regain a slim 16-14 advantage.
"I thought we played a wonderful first half," Ignacio head coach Shane Seibel said. "We were getting the shots we were wanting, high-percentage shots, and the defense played pretty good trying to keep Katrina in check."
"Started out the second half.we just missed three layups in a row and they were able to capitalize with some easy transition buckets, got that double-digit lead. And we just couldn't find our way to get back into it."
Gomez and senior forward Miriam Fernandez-Lopez certainly tried their best, netting nine points during the third quarter, but as it expired Chandler made sure her feet were behind the three-point arc and buried her try to send the action into the fourth quarter with DHS ahead 35-27.
"Yeah, it was terrible," Fernandez-Lopez said of the basket's impact. "We were watching her.and she just shot it; we knew it was going in."
"In the second half we kind of had a rough start.they put some pressure on us-sped us up, and we're not a speed-up team," said Chandler. "Like, we've all got to slow down and find our shots, get in our offense."
Chandler then began the tell-all stanza with a put-back hoop then, after junior Riley Hall hit 1-of-2 at the foul line, somehow rattled in a crucial three to put Durango (7-2, 0-0 4A/5A Southwestern) up 41-27 before IHS fought back to win the frame, 16-11, after that moment.
Seibel would foul out with 2:46 left and Gomez (10 points; 6-8 FT) likewise with 0:27 left, but the 'Cats stayed scrappy until the very end, and Garcia fittingly concluded the game with two FT's and only half a second left.
"We were trying to use (the fact) that they were paying attention to Hilda at the three-point line, to go inside and play hard," said Fernandez-Lopez (9 points, 5-7 FT). "I think we did well, but our layups.."
"We were missing layups," Shane Seibel lamented. "But.hats off to Durango; they played a great game."
Chandler finished with a game-high 18 points for Durango.
Garcia registered 12 for IHS, senior Chrystianne Valdez matched Ellie Seibel's four, and Chandler was left with one thought for the future after Durango avoided defeat: "Every moment we've got to be ready."
Up next, Ignacio hosts Dove Creek tonight to resume SJBL 2A play.
DIGGIN' THE VIBE: Fernandez-Lopez, an exchange student-athlete, certainly made the most of her evening inside an American college venue not just by playing well, but by absorbing the next-level atmosphere.
"For me, it's pretty big," she said. "Basketball for girls in Spain is not that big, so it's awesome how many people come here to watch us and cheer for us. So I just feel really proud where I'm at."
