The Durango High School girls basketball team had a doubleheader on Saturday at the final day of the Pueblo County Holiday Tournament and while it started with a tough loss against a top-5 team in state, it ended with a Demon victory. The first game saw the Demons compete against the No. 3 team in the latest Colorado High School Activities Association Class 4A poll in Air Academy, and ultimately came up short with a 53-27 loss.
Maddy McManus led the way for the Demons with 13 points, while Sydney Flores and Tayler Dossey each finished with six points.
Head coach Tim Fitzpatrick was pleased with his team’s effort despite the loss.
“Air Academy is a top-ranked team for a reason and they’ve got legitimate players at every position on the floor,” Fitzpatrick said. “(Kylee Blacksten) was something special today, but they’re all solid. We competed and kind of kept pace with them, but they could all do the little things right. We played hard and didn’t give in, though.”
Air Academy (6-0) stayed undefeated on the season with the win.
The Demons had a quick turn around as their game against Air Academy finished at 11 a.m., and they tipped off two hours later at 1 p.m. against Lewis-Palmer. This time, DHS got key defensive stops down the stretch and won 45-44 in overtime.
Senior Danielle Lee led the way with 12 points while Dossey finished with 10, McManus had six while junior guard Jael Larson contributed five.
The Demons took the lead late and Kyle Rowland had a one-and-one opportunity to wrap the game up after DHS got a defensive stop and held on to the rebound. Rowland missed the free-throw, but Lewis-Palmer (1-6) was unable to get a potential game-winning shot off before the buzzer sounded. Durango (2-5) stopped a four-game losing streak with the win.
“It was a super quick turnaround for us, and to have a game like that, it was great,” Fitzpatrick said. “Four games in three days, why not end it with a little bit of overtime, right? I thought we executed well down the stretch, and it was huge to get a win like that. I was really proud of how they grew in the past three days and we really learned a lot about ourselves as a team.”
Durango will travel to play Mancos at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Mancos High School.
The Ignacio girls basketball came out strong during Saturday afternoon’s first half against Cedaredge, but were unable to hold on, as it fell, 50-37.
The Bobcats (2-3) scored just 14 points in the second half and dropped their second consecutive game.
“It wasn’t a bad loss in the scheme of things and Cedaredge is a really good team,” said IHS head coach Justa Whitt. “We just couldn’t get some shots to fall and Charlize (Valdez) was out with the flu, but other girls stepped up and did what they could. It’s back to the practice board, we’re going to work on making progress, not excuses.”
Makayla Howell led the way for Ignacio with 15 points, while Jayden Brunson finished with 12. Cedaredge (4-1) was led by Elizabeth Gilmore, who scored 22 points while Makayla Kehmeier finished with 10.
The Bobcats will look to rebound against Dove Creek at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Ignacio High School.
The Bayfield High School girls basketball team got contributions all across the board in a 46-42 win over Monticello of Utah on Saturday afternoon, as the Wolverines had nine players score.
After Monticello senior guard Tymbr Black scored 12 points in the first half, she scored just one in the second half for the Buckaroos (2-5). Bayfield head coach Josh Kitchen switched up his defensive scheme and it worked to perfection.
“We changed to a box-and-one in order to guard Black, and we really shut her down,” Kitchen said. “I just want to give a shoutout for our girls getting it done on that end of the court.”
The Wolverines (2-4) were down as many as 12 points in the third quarter but as they got defensive stops, the offensive game also picked up, as they made the most of second-chance points and fast-break opportunities. Aubree Farmer was the leading scorer for Bayfield with 10 points, while Cayanne Carlson had nine.
The Wolverines have won two out of their last three games and have plenty of momentum as they head into Christmas break.
“We’ve got a long ways to go with a very young squad, but I see very good things happening each night,” Kitchen said. “We just have to start cleaning up the turnovers and take care of the ball.”
Bayfield will have almost a full month off, as its next game is against Alamosa, Friday, Jan. 11 at 5:30 p.m. at Bayfield High School.
Boys basketball
Boys basketballThe Durango High School boys basketball team ended an emphatic weekend by holding a team that averaged 68 points per game to half that, and then some.
Cullen Robinette led the Demons with 21 points as Durango defeated Denver North 50-30 Saturday morning at the final day of the Mitchell Tournament in Colorado Springs. With the win, Durango got back to above .500 on the season at 5-4.
“I was super proud of our defensive performance today,” said DHS head coach Alan Batiste. “We ran a matchup zone and made them really work for every shot and we forced them to pull up a lot and make a play.”
Durango also had a contribution from senior Al Hurworth, who added 13 points.
“The fun part about this team, is that nobody really knows what kind of team we are except us,” Batiste said. “If you look at our schedule, people might question our losses, but then see our wins against some great Front Range teams and be a bit perplexed about it. We probably still have doubters in the City of Durango, but I think this weekend proved how competitive we are and how much heart this team has.”
Durango will look to extend its three-game winning streak when they hit the road once again early next week. The Demons will square off against Mancos at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Mancos High School.
The Ignacio boys basketball team is in a bit of a slump, as the Bobcats dropped their fourth consecutive game with a 58-46 loss to Cedaredge on Saturday.
Triston Thompson led the way with 13 points while Bryce Finn had 12.
The Bobcats (1-4, 0-1 1A/2A San Juan Basin League) led at halftime and were down just three points heading into the final frame, but the Bruins (3-2) took over when it mattered most.
“We committed six straight turnovers and they scored on three of those possessions, so that was the dagger,” said IHS head coach Chris Valdez. “We just threw the ball away too many times, they got back-to-back and-1’s and while we fought to get it back within eight points, too much went wrong for us down the stretch.”
Valdez also contributed Cedaredge’s win to overmatching the Bobcats in the rebounding department.
“We weren’t nearly athletic enough and didn’t box-out,” Valdez said. “Triston led us with six rebounds and he’s our point guard. They got every offensive rebound and put it in the basket what seemed like every time. It was a tough one to lose, but we’ll bounce back. We haven’t done ourselves any favors with our schedule, but we’ll figure it out. We just have to be less sporadic and find our rhythm.”
Ignacio will square off against Dove Creek at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Ignacio High School.
bploen@durangoherald.com
