Pushed to the brink by a Ouray girls basketball team on the rise and a senior who refused to go quietly on senior night for the Trojans, Ignacio’s Kiana Valdez made a championship play at a championship time.
Valdez, an Ignacio High School sophomore, stepped in front of a driving Kayla Fairchild of Ouray and drew a charging foul with 20 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of a one-score game. That gave the ball back to the Bobcats, and Ignacio junior Avionne Gomez took care of the game from the foul line to send the Bobcats to a 47-44, come-from-behind road win.
IHS improved to 13-6 overall and 10-1 in the 2A San Juan Basin League and clinched at least a share of the league championship along with Norwood. The two teams split the regular-season meetings and tied in point differential, and the top-seed for next week’s district tournament will be determined Monday at a league meeting in Ridgway.
Fairchild finished with 20 points and nine rebounds for Ouray and was determined to score more and deliver the Trojans a win. But Valdez’s defensive play prevented an upset.
“It was senior night, and (Fairchild) went off,” IHS head coach Shane Seibel said. “We had to battle back, and Avionne Gomez and Morgan Herrera down the stretch helped us overcome. But the big play came from our subs, especially Kiana. That charge solidified the win.”
Gomez followed up her historic performance Thursday, in which she tied a state record for most 3-pointers in a single game with 10, with a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds. Herrera, a freshman, added 16 points and 14 rebounds.
IHS came out flat and trailed by five after one quarter and four at halftime. Without guard Alejandra Lujan, who has been out for a week with a concussion after a car accident, the Bobcats struggled to shut down Fairchild off the dribble. But the Bobcats answered the bell in the third quarter and rallied to win the game.
IHS will compete in the San Juan Basin League district tournament next Friday and Saturday at Cortez. Seeding will be set Monday. Seibel is hoping to earn the top seed so his team can play at 4:30 p.m. Friday instead of the 8:30 p.m. game.
Boys Basketball
Boys BasketballThe Bobcats shot 3-for-35 from behind the 3-point line, and that signaled disaster in Ouray.
In nine years, this was only the third loss the Ignacio boys basketball team has suffered in league play. Along with one other forfeit, the Bobcats are 125-4 during that stretch.
“It was 50-38, and it wasn’t even that close,” IHS head coach Chris Valdez said. “We just couldn’t hit a shot, and it’s not like we weren’t open. We had maybe two or three bad shots out of all that, otherwise we were wide open.”
Ouray was an awkward gym that is shorter in length and has a low roof. The girls struggled early Saturday, too, but Valdez would make no excuses for missing shots.
Johnny Valdez finished with 18 points. He hit two of the team’s 3s but was 2-for-11 from long range. He was 4-for-6 from inside the 3-point line.
Ignacio still won the San Juan Basin League by two games this year with a record of 14-4 overall and 11-1 in league. They’ll be the top seed in the district tournament beginning Friday in Cortez.
“You still want to sweep the league completely,” Valdez said. “But we only have one senior and lost all five starters from last year. But we expect to win, and it’s tough when you don’t.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
