The Pagosa Springs High School Lady Pirate basketball team traveled to Montrose Dec. 19-21 for a trio of games against 5A opponents at the Black Canyon Classic, further improving its winning record despite an early stumble.
Absorbing their first loss of the season, the Lady Pirates fell to hosts Montrose 45-37 on Dec. 19.
In an email to The SUN, coach Sarah Osborn notes the result was a “good lesson for us early in the season.”
The Red Hawks held the Lady Pirates to zero points for the first quarter and by halftime led 26-7.
That early deficit would haunt the Lady Pirates as they staged a second-half rally, outscoring Montrose 30-19 and avenging their first-quarter shutout by holding the Red Hawks to zero points in the fourth.
“We struggled against Montrose early in the game, it took us the whole first half before we were able to settle into our offense,” Osborn wrote. “By this time we had dug ourselves into a pretty big hole. We were able to lean on our sophomore guard Ximena Garcia from the bench to bring us some fresh energy and get us going on offense. I am extremely proud of our team and the fight they showed in the fourth quarter.”
She adds , “The game is never over and we will fight until the last buzzer. I am extremely blessed to coach a team that never gives up on each other or the game.”
Against Montrose, Elizabeth Currier led in scoring with 10 points, followed by Kylie Ketchum and Ximena Garcia, who each scored eight points each.
The Lady Pirates shot for 45 percent from the free-throw line, sinking five of 11 attempts.
Karsyn Shahan led the team in rebounds on the night, with three offensive and three defensive. Amber Snarr and Ketchum brought down five rebounds each, both with two offensive and three defensive.
The team’s 10 assists were distributed across the roster, as were its eight steals. No blocks were recorded against the Red Hawks.
According to data compiled on MaxPreps, it was the third consecutive loss suffered by the Lady Pirates against the Red Hawks, who improved their overall season record to 6-1 with the Dec. 19 win.
The Lady Pirates rebounded Dec. 20 versus Glenwood Springs, defeating the Demons 48-24 in a defensive display that limited their opponents to single-digit scoring for the first, second and fourth quarters.
Currier led the team’s offense with 21 points on the night. The senior also brought down seven rebounds — five offensive and two defensive — and counted five assists and three steals.
Ketchum tallied nine points and led the team in rebounds with nine for the night — six offensive and three defensive — and also added three steals, three assists and one block to the stat sheet.
Shahan scored eight points, with five rebounds, one assist, three steals and one block.
Garcia added four offensive and one defensive rebound.
The Lady Pirates sunk 25 percent of shots from the free-throw line, landing two of five attempts.
The Lady Pirates followed up that win with a dominant victory over Pueblo Central on Dec. 21, winning 59-19 in another defensive outing that never allowed the Wildcats to score more than eight points in a quarter.
By halftime, the Lady Pirates led 37-8 and never relented, with Shahan leading the offensive charge by scoring 14 points. She also had three rebounds, one assist, four steals and one block.
Currier scored 10 points on the night, and also counted four assists, three steals and two blocks.
Kaila Limebrook added seven points and led the team in rebounds with four defensive and one offensive. The junior also had one assist.
Charity Domingo, Lexi Campbell and Ketchum each scored six points against the Wildcats, while Snarr added four rebounds, one assist and three steals.
The Lady Pirates landed one of two free-throw attempts.
After the weekend’s play, the team’s overall record stands at 4-1.
Osborn praises the team’s performances in the email, and highlights the Lady Pirates’ tenacity and camaraderie.
“The team was able to learn from the night before and came out against both teams ready to go,” Osborn wrote. “Our offense connected early in the games, and we were able to rely on our press once again to create early turnovers for the other teams. These were fun team wins, where we had all ten players on our team getting minutes and contributing to our wins. The intensity from our team never dropped no matter what 5 were on the floor. I loved seeing strong post play from Kaila Limebrook who crashed the boards hard and led us in rebounds and used those to create second shot opportunities. It is nice to see our younger players stepping up early in the season to play with our solid seniors that are leading us each game.”
Next up, the Lady Pirates are scheduled to hit the road again, this time visiting Holy Family High School for two games Jan. 3-4, 2025, in Broomfield.
The Lady Pirates are scheduled to face the 4A hosts at 6 p.m. on Jan. 3, 2025, followed by a game against Kent Denver at noon the following day.
Their next home game is scheduled for Jan. 7, 2025, versus Sanford High School.
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