No matter if it was from the free-throw line, the 3-point line or inside the arc, for 32 minutes it looked like there was a lid on the basket for the Durango girls basketball team. Pagosa Springs made enough shots to pull away early and cruise to a 41-26 victory Thursday night at DHS.
Durango (4-5) shot 6 of 14 from the free-throw line. Junior guard Mariah Maestas led the Demons with 11 points. Junior guard Lilly Fitzpatrick had 10 points.
“Pagosa is a good team,” Durango coach Lauren Moran said. “We knew they’d be a good team, they’re very solid fundamentally and really strong on defense. We knew it would be a challenge, but obviously I wish we could’ve competed a little better offensively and defensively.”
Pagosa Springs junior guard Elizabeth Currier had 17 points, nine of which came from 3-point range. Junior guard Karsyn Shahan had nine points.
The first quarter started off slow for both teams but Lilly Fitzpatrick scored the first points for Durango on a layup inside. Pagosa Springs’ first quarter was highlighted by an and-one bucket inside to put them up 7-4 in the middle of the first quarter.
The Demons responded with a Fitzpatrick jumper before Pagosa Springs junior Kylie Ketchum hit a 3-pointer to put the Pirates up 10-7 after one quarter.
Shahan started the scoring in the second with a layup after establishing deep post position. Maestas hit a 3-pointer, followed by a Pirates 3-pointer. Maestas hit a midrange jumper to make it 15-11 Pagosa with less than seven minutes left.
Durango struggled from the free-throw line and left points on the board. Turnovers and stagnant offense by both sides halted scoring before Currier hit a 3-pointer from the wing to put Pagosa up 20-11 with three minutes left in the second.
Carter Neiman was fouled after missing two free throws and broke a five-minute scoring drought with two free throws to cut the deficit to 22-13 before a Pirates layup made it 24-13 with 1:20 left. Pagosa Springs carried the 11-point lead into halftime with a 26-15 lead.
Ellie White opened up second-half scoring with a baby hook out of the post. Durango later came out of a timeout in a 1-2-2 zone, which slowed the Pirates’ scoring. Moran said she went to the zone to try and create some offense through defense.
However, Durango’s offense couldn’t find a spark, and Pagosa Springs continued to hit shots.
Shahan hit two free throws, Ketchum hit a layup and Currier had a fast-break layup to put Pagosa up 35-20 with 2:11 left in the third before Moran called timeout.
The Demons struggled to convert their offensive putbacks, and the touch wasn’t there. Durango couldn’t run any good sets at the end and looked disjointed entering the fourth quarter.
Fitzpatrick opened up the scoring once again with two free throws but Pagosa Springs continued to get inside and get fouled. Currier hit a 3-pointer against the zone and extended the lead to 39-22 with 5:10 left.
The Demons continued to struggle from the line down the stretch. Ketchum scored and that brought in the bench with 2:11 left with the Pirates leading 41-23.
“We did do a better job of executing our offensive sets in the fourth quarter,” Moran said. “Hopefully that is something we can build on and continue to improve on. Then that will give people the ball in a position where they can be successful and put it in the basket.”
Durango will return to the court at home against Bloomfield on Jan. 9.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
