No plaque? No problem.
Unable to out-hustle top-seeded Cedaredge on Friday in the Class 2A District 3 Tournament’s opening contest, the fourth-seeded Ignacio girls pulled off one upset in neutral Montezuma-Cortez High School’s gym. Ignacio kept its 2021-22 season alive by defeating No. 3 seed Olathe 52-45 in Saturday’s third-place game.
“It was win or lose; we saw our opportunity and we took it,” said senior Elisia Cruz. “I think we came together as a team and did what was needed to be done. We’re all very talented, and we put that talent to work.”
“It feels good,” senior Avaleena Nanaeto said. “Feels like, ‘OK, now we’ve got to work even harder’ to … try to win the next one. Really work hard and come (together) as a team, and just push forward.”
Trailing the Lady Pirates 13-12 through one quarter and 27-20 through two, thanks to a combined 20 points from OHS backcourt starters Makayla Millsap and Analise Marin, plus reserve Dreanna Waterman, Ignacio managed to turn the tide by winning the third quarter 17-6 as Olathe accrued as many fouls as points scored.
Held to eight points by Cedaredge, Nanaeto led the rally with seven of her game-high 20. Junior Laci Brunson, scoreless in the first half, hit a three-pointer and a free throw. Cruz’s lone basket then propelled IHS into the fourth quarter up 37-33.
Junior Harmony Reynolds converted a Nanaeto steal into two points, increasing the advantage to 42-35. She later converted a Brunson pass into two more, widening the gap to 46-37. Nanaeto sank a free throw with 50.7 seconds left in regulation, maxing out Ignacio’s lead at 51-41 before the Lady Pirates made one last push behind senior post Allie Johnson, largely contained through three quarters.
“We just put Soly on her and let her work with it,” Nanaeto said, of sophomore reserve Solymar Cosio.
“Soly really stepped it up this game; she definitely held her down,” Cruz said. “And she helped out with us getting rebounds. I’m proud of her.”
Reynolds’ 10 fourth-quarter points upped her total to 16. Brunson finished with six. Sophomore Darlyn Mendoza-Lechuga logged five points, and Cosio fought for three.
Johnson totaled six fourth-quarter points and 13 in defeat for Olathe (10-11 overall), edged 42-39 by No. 2 Mancos the night before.
Against Cedaredge, Mendoza-Lechuga scored five points, and Brunson and sophomore Maci Barnes each netted four. Reynolds was held to two. Lady Bruin senior guard Paige McGovern’s 19 points led all players, and classmate Megan Jenkins booked 10 as CHS raced out to leads of 20-4 after one quarter and 40-12 through two, then coasted to win 55-25.
After the third-place finish, Ignacio (11-10) was awarded the 32-team state tournament’s initial No. 25 seed and will travel east to Region VIII host Peyton (16-5) for a 5 p.m. tip Friday. Contesting the 6:30 game will be No. 9 Sedgwick County (14-6) and No. 24 Monte Vista (13-9). The winning sides will go head to head Saturday for a place in the state championships’ Great Eight March 10 at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland.
“For the girls, I’m real proud of them,” head coach Tony Gomez said. “It’s good for them and lifts their morale – they work hard, so it’s some fruit of their hard work.”
Able to handle Mancos 37-11 in the first-place game behind 22 points from McGovern, Cedaredge (18-3) received the No. 6 seed and rights to host Region VI.
No. 27 Byers (10-12) will be the Lady Bruins’ first opponent Friday, with No. 11 Hoehne (18-4) and No. 22 Rangely (12-9) in the evening.
Mancos (14-7) received the No. 17 seed and will travel to Region I host Sanford, where the Lady Jays will first face No. 16 Akron (11-9) at 5 p.m. Friday. No. 1 Sanford (21-1) and 32-seed Burlington (9-13) will meet at 2 p.m.
