DENVER— The Durango girls basketball team could not complete the tall task of taking down the undefeated No. 1 seed Air Academy in the 5A Great 8 state playoff game. The Kadets cruised to a 55-25 win on Friday night inside Denver Coliseum to advance to the 5A Final 4.
It was literally a tall task for the No. 8 seed Demons because the Kadets had three starters over 5-foot-11-inches tall. One of those players was 5-foot-11-inch point guard Kinley Asp. Durango’s tallest starter is senior forward Ellie White at around 5-foot-8-inches.
The Demons were affected by Air Academy’s length and size on both ends. Durango struggled to finish against Kadet senior forwards Tatyonna Brown (6-foot-2-inches) and Ramah Khammash (6-foot-3-inches). The Kadets finished over the smaller Demons inside and caused a lot of turnovers that led to transition points.
“Everyone competed really hard; they weren’t intimidated by the other team,” Durango head coach Lauren Moran said. “At times we played really well defensively but we couldn't get shots to fall. When you're playing a team that's that strong and that big you have to hit shots.”
Durango finished its season 19-7 overall. Senior forward Ellie White led the Demons in her final high school basketball game with 11 points.
Air Academy improved to 25-0 overall. Brown, a Division I commit to the University of Kansas, finished with 14 points. Khammash finished with 12 and Asp added 10.
It was immediately clear the Demons would have trouble creating offense against the Kadets’ size. The Demons had some good interior passing early on; White finished two inside to put Durango up 4-2 with four minutes left in the first.
“Ellie, like everybody did, played really hard,” Moran said. “The fact that she connected the dots shows that she wasn't phased at all by the situation. She had a great game and … she went out on a really strong note.”
The Kadets used their size inside to draw fouls and get to the basket. Durango was very intentional with its possessions, which kept it close early as the Demons chewed clock. But the Demons struggled with turnovers late against Air Academy’s height and length. Air Academy led 9-4 after the first quarter.
Defense wasn’t the issue early on in the second for Durango. The Demons caused a few turnovers and rebounded as a team. Air Academy couldn’t use its size advantage. Durango struggled to finish inside against the Air Academy forwards. But junior guard Claire Goodwin hit two free throws to cut it to 11-9 with 3:50 to go in the first.
The Air Academy student section constantly let Durango know how long it was taking with each possession, counting out the passes the Demons had or how many seconds each possession took.
Air Academy pulled away at the end of the second quarter by drawing fouls and getting to the free-throw line. Asp hit two free throws and Brown finished in transition to put Air Academy up 22-9 at halftime. The Kadets finished the quarter on an 11-0 run.
Durango ended Air Academy’s run with a free throw to start the third and Durango senior guard Mariah Maestas hit an open 3-pointer to make it 22-13 with 5:45 left in the third.
Air Academy got inside to extend its lead and really showed its size advantage. Moran called the Kadets the biggest high school girls basketball team she’s seen for a reason. Brown was basically playing catch with the rim when she missed and Khammash easily followed one of Brown’s misses plus the foul. Khammash hit a 3-pointer to push Air Academy’s lead to 30-13 with 3:45 left in the third.
Air Academy led 37-13 after three quarters. The Kadets finished the quarter on a 15-0 run thanks to some good 3-point shooting off good ball movement.
The Kadets led by as many as 30 in the fourth as they got plenty of fast break opportunities off blocks or steals.
Durango will lose the heart and soul of its team with its four seniors (White, Maestas, Lilly Fitzpatrick and Tyler Trujillo) graduating. The Demons will have to rely on Goodwin in her senior season along with reserves junior Ryne Neiman and sophomore Jaelyn Alston.
“They all had unique roles, but they all complimented each other so well,” Moran said about her seniors. “The experience they had being a part of the program these last three years was invaluable. The example they set for the younger girls was really positive.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
