Firing from long range just before the first-quarter buzzer wasn't exactly what Megan Farrah had in mind Tuesday evening; it was merely a means of avoiding practice-court torture the next afternoon.
"He (head coach Wes Lewis) often makes me run suicides if I don't shoot," quipped Pagosa Springs' lone senior. "And there's no way I wanted to run more suicides!"
Unbeknownst to her at the time, her swish from downtown was exactly the shot in the arm the seventh-ranked Pirates needed against Bayfield. Able to shake off the possible effects of junior star Morgan Lewis' eight points in the initial eight minutes, the nothing-to-lose Wolverines trailed by just four points, 10-6.
"We really covered the outside and then doubled up on the post," explained BHS junior center Courtney Bayles. "I think that really went towards helping us in the first especially, until they adjusted."
And Farrah's trey seemed to open the floodgates. Lewis immediately followed it up with a three-point play starting the second quarter, and Pagosa Springs then outscored their guests, suddenly hesitant to shoot, 18-3 to go into halftime ahead 34-9 and on course to a 65-25 victory.
"Most of our shots weren't falling, for most of the second quarter," said Bayles. "And we weren't playing at the pace they were playing; we were not playing to our full potential that we have been."
Morgan Lewis finished with a game-best 28 points as PSHS improved to 13-2 overall, 7-1 in the 3A Intermountain.
For BHS, Bayles and senior guard Kyle Baker each registered eight points, and combined to go a perfect 12-of-12 at the free-throw line with each sinking six tries. Bayfield, which actually won the third quarter 12-10, went 15-of-20 as a whole from the stripe while Pagosa Springs finished 15-of-21. Bayfield is now 5-12, 1-7 in the IML, for the season.
Seeing extra court time with senior regular Chloe Weybright unavailable, sophomore guard Jordan Lanning was the only player to foul out (with 1:08 left in the fourth quarter).
"A lot of the time we were jumbled all over the place," Bayles said. "I think if we take time to set up and run our offenses, we'll actually see those open shots and open layups we've been looking for."
Up next, the Wolverines welcome Alamosa to BHS Gymnasium at 5:30 p.m. Friday, with AHS (3-5 IML) having dipped to 6-10 overall Tuesday evening via a 62-52 loss at non-league Buena Vista (6-9, 2-6 3A Tri-Peaks).
"We're ready for them to come," stated Bayles. "It's Senior Night, so we're ready to go put it all out there for the seniors and get ready to kick some butt!"
