Tasked with hounding Pagosa Springs seniors Alexis Campbell and Kaila Limebrook, Ignacio girls basketball’s Justina Jessepe’s evening Saturday probably wasn’t going to end without a bump or bruise.
She’d have been fortunate if the Bobcats won after she nearly cracked her forehead against a bleacher after falling out of bounds and then collided with a teammate on defense, forcing her to leave the game. But Ignacio fell short at home, losing 44-31.
Jessepe required some help to hop/hobble back to the Bobcats’ bench, but her earlier impact was probably the reason Garcia’s two made free throws, resulting from contact with Jessepe, increased the visiting Pirates’ lead to 41-31, with 1:58 remaining in regulation.
“She got hurt in Center, so this was her first game back since December,” said Nanaeto. “She just came here, out of Kansas, in the…beginning of the season, and she’s been turning out pretty good. You can still see that ‘freshman’ in her game, but if we can work through that, she’ll be alright.”
The Pirates (5-6 overall, 2-0 IML) took a 4-0 lead early, but a 3-pointer by junior Aubree Lucero not only got the Bobcats (1-9, 0-1) on the scoreboard but set in motion a series of possessions all ending with Jessepe putting the ball in the hoop: two FTs giving IHS a 5-4 lead, an Alyssa Atencio-assisted 2-point take regaining IHS a 7-5 lead, and a Maliyah Martinez-assisted layup putting the home side up 9-7.
Martinez, a junior guard/forward, then closed out the opening eight minutes receiving a lob into the paint from senior point guard Atencio and converting the catch into an unexpected 11-7 advantage. But an even more unexpected 3-pointer by Limebrook cut Ignacio’s lead back down to 13-12 with 6:18 left until halftime, and Garcia followed a Nanaeto timeout with PSHS’ second trey, giving the guests a 15-13 edge with 3:47 to go.
Taking a feed from Avila, Martinez would later re-tie the score at 17-all, but Limebrook immediately countered with a buzzer-beating jump-hook close to the baseline. Junior guard Adelyn Hittle then got the third quarter underway with a 2-point drive, and PSHS’ lead soon reached 23-17 before Ignacio again began chipping away at it.
A Martinez three pulled the ’Cats back to 25-22, and a nearly-vertical, close-range shot by sophomore forward Veronica Brown somehow fell through the net and kept IHS within three points, 27-24. The Pirates concluded the quarter with baskets by Hittle and senior reserve Charity Domingo and began the fourth quarter up 31-24.
Hittle’s 3-pointer, assisted by Domingo, with 3:26 left in the game, effectively offset a combined seven-point effort by Atencio and Avila and actually increased Pagosa Springs’ lead to 39-31.
Hittle finished with a game-high 16 points, while Garcia and Limebrook each totaled nine.
Martinez registered nine points for Ignacio, and Jessepe totaled eight.
“It was a good game,” said Nanaeto. “We worked hard, and we’re almost to the step where we can progress, but we need a little more. They’re working as a team and…we really saw it on defense. Plus movement off each other, making more shots, communication in the plays a bit more—I’m very proud of them.”
IHS will resume league play Thursday evening against 3A Bayfield, then go to La Jara on Friday to challenge 3A Centauri.
