After reaching the Sweet 16 a couple of times the last few years, the Durango High School girls basketball team put together an even longer run this year and reached the Final Four. Unfortunately for the Demons, the Roosevelt Roughriders kept them from going any further on Thursday.
The two teams squared off in the Class 5A semifinals at the Denver Coliseum, but Roosevelt took an early lead and never let it go, eventually winning the contest 59-39 to advance to the state title game against Windsor.
Roosevelt had some big, physical players, but they were also fast and worked well together.
The Roughriders also knew they couldn’t let Durango’s Mason Rowland beat them and swarmed her every time she had the ball.
“They’re a good team and they’re big. Credit to them,” said DHS head coach Tim Fitzpatrick. “They ran a double team on Mason the whole game and made it tough on us. She didn’t have a lot of room to operate.”
Rowland still played aggressively and drew multiple fouls.
Halle Peterson provided DHS some early buckets, but Roosevelt led 15-4 after the first quarter and 30-11 at halftime.
DHS started finding some room in Roosevelt’s defense and clicking better offensively in the second half. Reese Glover knocked down a shot, Riley Campbell took a steal down the court and sunk a jumper and then Carter Neiman connected as the teams traded baskets to start the third.
Tyler Trujillo then gave DHS a spark at the end of the quarter, scoring down low with a nice move, sinking a trey and then forcing a steal. DHS missed its first shot on the ensuing fast break, but Trujillo snagged the rebound and kicked it out to Adde Neiman who capitalized from three, making the score 45-25 heading into the fourth.
The Demons finished strong and the two teams were even in the final quarter. Rowland hit a three, grabbed a long rebound and hit a jumper. The next time down the court, she dribbled through Roosevelt’s defense and then assisted Ellie White in the paint. Peterson scored while getting fouled and added a free throw. Carter Neiman also scored for DHS.
Roosevelt, however, was able to match Durango’s output to finish on top.
“That was the most points we had given up so our defense wasn’t on point,” Fitzpatrick said. “But, they could see over us.”
Farmington, on Nov. 29, was the only other team that scored over 50 points against DHS this season, and DHS only allowed 40 or more points twice.
Rowland scored 13 points to lead DHS. Peterson added seven and Trujillo scored five.
DHS, the 6A/5A Southwestern League champion, finishes its season with a 23-3 overall mark. Roosevelt improved to 25-2 with the win, snapping a nine-game Durango winning streak.
“It was a great run and a great bunch of kids to coach,” Fitzpatrick said. “We’ve been knocking on that door the last couple of years. Our league was good and that helped us prepare. Getting to the Final Four with Glenwood Springs (from the Western Slope), that doesn’t happen in basketball in the big-school classifications for sure and very rarely does it happen in other sports. For us to make this run, it was special.”
The Demons also made the run without one of their starters because of a knee injury, Katelynn Sheppard, a sophomore who also started for the Demons as a freshman. “We missed her ability to score points,” Fitzpatrick said.
Rowland, however, was able to recover from an injured back that cost her most of the volleyball season to lead the team her senior year on the court.
In the playoffs, Rowland scored 22 points in DHS’ 44-37 first-round win over Bear Creek, 26 in the team’s 35-26 win over Pueblo West, 24 in Durango’s 49-25 Great Eight win over Cañon City and then 13 points against Roosevelt for an average of 21.25 points per game.
“To have a kid like Mason; you don’t get to coach kids like that often in a career,” Fitzpatrick said. “She’s the best basketball player I’ve ever coached. She did so much for us. Every team (in the playoffs) eventually went box-one on her and Roosevelt double teamed her the whole game, and she still averaged over 20 points. She should be the state’s 5A player of the year.”
In the first Class 5A semifinal on Thursday, the Windsor Wizards punched their ticket to the state title game for the third consecutive season with a 65-35 victory over Glenwood Springs. Windsor finished second to Mullen the last two years, and Windsor beat DHS at state last year and Mullen eliminated the Demons the year before that. Some Wizard faithful were wearing shirts that read “third time’s a charm.”
