A rivalry game. Senior night. Valentine’s Day.
It’s a lot to fit into one contest.
The Durango High School girls basketball team will host Montrose at 5:30 p.m. Friday to begin its final weekend of regular-season games.
“It’s a magical weekend,” DHS head coach Nancy Smith said. “There’s a lot going into it.”
DHS (7-9, 5-3 Southwestern League) has gotten a lot out of a constantly shifting cast of characters this year because of ineligibility and injuries.
The Demons have won their last four games after a three-game losing streak. They’ve held their last five opponents under 50 points.
“I feel like we’ve really come together as a team,” said Emily McCue, daughter of Frank and Julie McCue. “We’re finally getting back key pieces of the puzzle. We’re trying to emphasize the idea of family and that we’re all trying to accomplish this one task together.”
They won’t be at full strength, however.
DHS junior Jessica Sigillito won’t be able to play because of a knee bruise, Katie Wiegert has the flu and an additional player is ineligible.
But DHS has managed to find ways to win with whoever sees the floor.
“I’ve always known these girls are very talented,” Smith said. “Even this season they’ve improved greatly.”
They’ll need to be at their best to beat Montrose.
The Indians (11-7, 6-2 SWL) beat DHS 49-28 in the team’s first meeting this season in Montrose.
“They’re very good at every position. They’re kind of a plumb line for us; we measure ourselves against them,” Smith said. “That’s where we want to be.”
It doesn’t get any easier the next day, when DHS will host Grand Junction at noon Saturday.
The Tigers currently lead the SWL standings at 5-1 in league play. They will play at Montezuma-Cortez on Friday before their game against DHS.
“Grand Junction always brings an insane amount of energy and intensity,” McCue said.
DHS has played its last road regular season game and will close out the year at home.
The Demons will celebrate senior night Friday against Montrose.
“It’s definitely eye-opening and crazy that I’m almost done playing high school basketball,” McCue said. “I’ve spent so much time in these gyms. It’s surreal.”
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
