The Durango High School girls basketball team could not recover from a slow start on Saturday against Montrose, and lost 38-30.
Durango (11-7, 2-1 5A/4A Southwestern League) was led by Mason Rowland with eight points, Brenna Wolf had five and Maddy McManus had four. Montrose (15-3, 3-0 SWL) got off to a quick start, and led 15-7 after the first quarter and would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the game.
“We never really came back from the first-quarter deficit and it hurt us,” said DHS head coach Tim Fitzpatrick. “It was pretty even throughout the rest of the game, and we never really made a run. We cut it to four towards the end of the game, but we turned it over. Montrose is a good team, so credit to them.”
The Indians took the lead early, and would also take a 24-14 lead into halftime. Fitzpatrick said the second-half adjustments were good, which allowed DHS to close the gap, but they could not climb all the way back.
“I thought our defense looked good, and after the first quarter, we did a good job of keeping their best player at bay,” Fitzpatrick said. “She made some shots early on. On offense, we didn’t particularly shoot the ball well inside the 3-point line. The girls played hard, but we have to get ready for next weekend.
DHS will have a week to prepare before taking on Grand Junction Central (10-7, 1-2 SWL) at 5:30 p.m. Friday in Grand Junction.
The Bayfield High School girls basketball team had another top-five team on the ropes on Saturday, but the Wolverines could not pull off a win at Alamosa.
The Mean Moose (12-3, 4-2 3A Intermountain League), ranked No. 5 in the latest CHSAA Class 3A poll, controlled the tempo in the second quarter, and won 57-48. Bayfield (4-9, 1-5 SJBL) was led by Macee Schulz with 14 points. “I thought we had a really good first quarter, but we struggled a bit in the second and it was a bit of a letdown,” said BHS head coach Josh Kitchen. “We gave up too many points, obviously. The third quarter was slow for us, too. We picked it up in the fourth, but it was too big of a hole to climb out of.”
BHS will host Telluride (6-7, 4-2 2A/1A San Juan Basin League) in a non-conference game at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Boys basketball
Boys basketballThe Durango High School boys basketball team kept up with Montrose for three quarters, but the Indians used a big fourth-quarter run to hold on to a 61-44 win at DHS on Saturday.
Jordan Woolverton led the Demons (8-9, 0-3 5A/4A Southwestern League) with 12 points, while Martin Cuntz also finished with 12. Anthony Flint chipped in seven and Sam Johnson scored five in the loss.
“It was tough tonight,” said DHS head coach Alan Batiste. “It was a three-point game with five minutes to go, but Jordan fouled out, and it was tough to come back after that. We didn’t give ourselves a chance at the end. Our defense might have been too aggressive, or not aggressive enough, I’m not sure tonight. Montrose dictated the temp and we didn’t force any turnovers. When we fouled, they got to the free-throw line and made their shots. That was it.”
The Indians (15-3, 3-0 SWL) used balanced scoring to get out to an early 12-9 lead after the first quarter, and would extend it to 25-21 lead at halftime. In the third, they outscored DHS 17-14 and took a 42-35 lead. They went on to outscore DHS 19-9 in the final frame to hold on for a key road victory.
After an 0-3 start in league play, Batiste said it’s not time for his team to panic, and there is still a way to fight for a strong finish to league play.
“We have to take it one game at a time, but losing three at home doesn’t help,” Batiste said. “We were in this position four years ago when we lost our first two, and we went on to win league. Now the hard part is that we’re going on the road. We have to work on some little things, and not give in. Next week is a big week for our season, and we need to come out with a sense of urgency.”
Durango will begin a five-game road trip on Tuesday when the Demons will travel to Class 2A No. 5 Ignacio (10-1, 6-0 2A/1A SJBL) at 7 p.m., Tuesday. The Demons will return to league action against Grand Junction Central (5-13, 1-2 SWL) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
The Bayfield High School boys basketball team came up short against Alamosa (11-4, 6-0 3A Intermountain League) in a 61-49 loss on Saturday in Alamosa. The Wolverines (1-14, 0-6 IML) have lost 12 games in a row. BHS head coach Klint Chandler was not available for comment. Statistics were not available.
The Wolverines will host Montezuma-Cortez (9-6, 3-3 IML) at 7 p.m. Friday.
bploen@durangoherald.com
