CONEJOS COUNTY – Though senior forward/center Harmony Reynolds and junior center/forward Solymar Cosio were able to bang inside against Centauri’s vaunted posts on Saturday afternoon, the Ignacio girls’ basketball team could do little to stop CHS’ talented backcourt in a 46-30 loss.
Forced to try climbing out of double-digit depths after being blanked for 7:24 of the first eight-minute quarter, during which the 3A Intermountain League District Tournament-hosting Falcons had built a 10-0 lead, IHS won the third quarter by a 10-8 margin and took the second half 18-17 with Reynolds tallying an opportunistic 12 of her team-high 16 points.
Cosio scored eight points in the girls’ championship as she and Reynolds dominated Centauri frontcourt starters Kailyn Polzin and Caitlin Creel, plus reserve Lacey Johnson, by a combined 24-4 count.
Unfortunately, CHS’ trio of Abbey Smith, Amaya Garcia and Braelyn Tucker outclassed IHS counterparts Laci Brunson, Marissa Olguin and Darlyn Mendoza-Lechuga, plus reserve Maci Barnes, 40-6.
Smith went off for a game-high 24 points, including two first quarter three-pointers, plus an ‘and-1’ play beginning the second quarter to increase Centauri’s lead to 15-2. Assisted by Polzin, Smith’s third trey upped Centauri’s lead to 27-8, and her subsequent breakaway layup maxed out CHS’ first-half advantage at 29-8 before Cosio converted a three-point ‘and-one’ try with 2:13 left.
Cosio made one of two later free throws to leave the score 29-12 at intermission.
Despite Reynolds booking eight points in the third quarter, the Falcons (19-2 overall) did enough to preserve a 37-22 pad through 24 minutes.
Garcia gradually piled up 11 points in the win while Tucker totaled five. Polzin, Creel and reserve Jocelyn Jarvies each chipped in two points. Centauri totaled five three-pointers and went 1-of-2 from the foul line in their 16th consecutive conquest – which followed a 69-18 throttling of Montezuma-Cortez during Friday’s semifinals.
Having scored Ignacio’s first points with a baseline runner producing an unsuccessful and-1 chance, Mendoza-Lechuga finished with four points and Barnes a pair of fourth-quarter free throws. The Bobcats (11-10 overall) went 8-of-15 from the stripe.
Having effectively stamped their postseason passports to the Class 3A State Tournament’s opening Round-of-32 by routing Crested Butte 52-26 in the IML semis Friday, the Bobcats received the No. 11 seed and will next face No. 22 Woodland Park (13-10) in one Region VI semi.
Trae Seibel’s ’Cats and Craig Macari’s Panthers will square off at 6:30 p.m. Friday in Kersey. Defending 3A state champ Platte Valley (15-7), seeded sixth and hosting the regional, will first duel 27-seed Rocky Ford (10-10) at 5 p.m. Friday.
The winning teams will go head-to-head at 11 a.m. Saturday.
