The Ignacio High School girls basketball team fell behind the Pagosa Springs Pirates 21-12 at halftime and trailed the Class 3A seventh-ranked team by as much as 14 in the third quarter. The Class 2A No. 13 Bobcats didn’t back down and focused on chipping away at the Pirates’ big lead.
IHS ended the third quarter on an impressive 11-2 run to get back within 31-26. The teams exchanged points at the free-throw line during the start of the fourth quarter, and Pagosa Springs maintained its five-point advantage at 35-30 late in the quarter.
But the Bobcats got a 3-pointer from Charlize Valdez followed by a seal and a layup from Avaleena Nanaeto with nine seconds to play to send the game into overtime tied 35-35 after IHS had outscored Pagosa Springs 9-4 in the fourth quarter.
In overtime, Ignacio continued its strong play with a quick 3-pointer from Jayden Brunson followed by three made free throws from Brunson to claim a 41-35 lead. A final bucket from Shelcie Gosney would give Ignacio a huge 43-37 victory.
“This was a major group effort,” IHS head coach Justa Whitt said. “It was the players and every assistant coach. We found some extra energy, and a lot of it was perseverance on the part of the girls. We’ve talked about that since the beginning of the season. Every girl, from the top five to our younger players and the freshmen, they all did great.”
The game was a late addition to the schedule for both teams. Ignacio (5-1, 3-0 2A San Juan Basin League) used it to replace one of two league games against Ridgway, which fell off the Bobcats’ schedule when Ridgway was unable to field a girls varsity team in 2021.
IHS has continued to grow as a team after losing two starters to injuries the first game of the season. Whitt said a big key to Thursday’s win was the play of Harmony Reynolds and Darlyn Mendoza-Lechuga, who played valuable minutes to allow the starting five to catch their breath.
Another big story Thursday was Ignacio’s ability to get Pagosa Springs (7-2, 4-1 3A Intermountain League) in foul trouble, particularly to 6-foot-2 junior center Molly Graham, who fouled out with 6:57 to play in the fourth quarter. When she picked up her fourth foul in the third quarter, IHS was able to get a quick rotation of players before mounting the big 11-2 run.
“We got a little lucky,” Whitt said. “(Graham) got a few calls on her that tapped her out at the beginning of the game, and that helped us stay in it a bit. They had the big lead on us before halftime, but we regrouped and fixed it.”
Adelyn Dozier and Keira Torrez each scored 10 points to lead Pagosa Springs. Dozier did all of her damage in the first half, as the defense of Valdez silenced her in the second half. IHS limited Graham to five points with the defense from Gosney, Reynolds and the attacking mentality of Valdez who was able to get defensive fouls against Graham.
Brunson led Ignacio with 14 points with six in overtime. She made three 3-pointers in the game. Valdez made a pair of 3s and finished with 13 points, while Laci Brunson scored six.
It was the trap defense of Laci Brunson and Nanaeto that led to the big steal and game-tying basked for Nanaeto to end the fourth quarter.
“They went on the attack and a little trap,” Whitt said. “Laci kind of caused the steal by stopping here, and Avaleena was there to take it away and then away she went. It was reminiscent of last year on a crazy little play at the end like that.”
A year ago, Ignacio was able to secure a 36-35 victory against the Pirates.
On a five-game winning streak, the Bobcats have seven games remaining on the regular-season schedule before postseason play. After adjusting to life without two of their key players, Whitt said the team has rebuilt confidence and is ready to charge through the second half of the schedule. IHS will host Sargent at 5 p.m. Friday.
“The girls are feeling great,” she said. “It’s been a bit difficult to get into a groove, but we are finding it during this difficult season. It’s been such a different experience for everybody, but we have to make the most of every practice and game. Some of that work we had in practice yesterday showed in the game tonight.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
