Three-pointers by senior DaLaney Wesner and junior Juliann Avila helped Ignacio girls basketball outscore Bayfield 15-4 during the final 6:48 of regulation Thursday evening and the Bobcats – with almost four players in double figures offensively – ultimately claimed victory by a 46-25 margin.
“Our offensive game was really good in the beginning,” said IHS sophomore Maliyah Martinez. “Toward the end we got tired; we had to switch it up because they figured out what we were doing and our shots weren’t falling. But we learned that fast breaks are our best friend, pretty much.”
Early on, both sides thrived with that mentality. Particularly the visiting Wolverines and especially sophomore guard Kimball Anderson. Shooting with confidence right from the outset, Anderson took advantage of Ignacio’s extra attention paid to senior Renae Foutz and drained two 3-pointers, giving BHS a 6-5 lead. Wesner answered with a late triple regaining IHS an 8-6 lead by the first quarter’s end.
It then grew to 14-8 with 5:00 left in the second, but Bayfield would tie the score at 14 via an Anderson jumper with 1:47 to go. Bobcat senior Victoria Brown, however, almost immediately regained the home team the upper hand, then added a pair of free throws with 1:15 left. Seven ticks later, Ignacio’s lead had increased to 20-14 thanks to Martinez converting a steal of BHS’ inbounds pass into another basket, and Brown would cap the first-half scoring with two FTs resulting from junior Alyssa Atencio prolonging a possession with a clutch offensive rebound.
Atencio then found her shot early in the third quarter, sank a deuce and a trey – inflating Ignacio’s pad to 27-14 with 5:57 left. The ’Cats found themselves breathing even easier during the next two minutes as Foutz, still scoreless, not only missed four consecutive FTs but then picked up her fourth personal foul with 3:59 to go.
IHS (7-11 overall, 3-5 3A/4A Intermountain) had 2-pointers by Brown and Wesner to take a 31-18 lead into the final frame.
Highlighted by Wesner’s aforementioned straight-on three, Ignacio finally broke free via an 11-0 burst.
“Coach just said we need to come out with confidence,” said Anderson, who totaled a team-high 12 points. “Slowing it down in our minds really made the difference between a shot going in or not.”
Clance and freshman Grace Brown each totaled four points for Bayfield. The charity stripe was anything but giving, however, the Wolverines (5-14, 0-9 IML) made only three of 23 FTs, with Foutz finishing 2-of-12, Hesford 0-of-6 and Anderson 0-of-3.
Ignacio finished 8-of-16 from the charity stripe. Despite going 2-of-6 from the foul line, Victoria Brown still ended up equaling Anderson’s 12 points.
IHS will travel on Tuesday to face 4A Montezuma-Cortez, with the Panthers standing 5-14 overall, 1-7 in league. Ignacio’s Friday game versus Centauri (at the time 15-3 overall, 7-1 IML) had been rescheduled for Feb. 25.
“We have to really push and focus on these next few games; in order to go to regionals we have to be (the) 32 or higher,” Martinez stated. “For our seniors, we want to make this their best last season and have fun with it.”
Bayfield will pause from IML work to host 3A Telluride on the 22nd. The Wolverines’ slated Valentine’s Day game versus Monte Vista (at the time 9-9, 3-5) was rescheduled for Monday.
