The Pagosa Springs High School Lady Pirate basketball team moved to 5-6 after going 2-0 last week against Monte Vista and Ignacio.
The 4A Lady Pirates defeated 3A Monte Vista 40-31 at home on Friday, Jan. 16.
“The Monte Vista game was a solid team win,” wrote coach Sarah Osborn in an email to The SUN. “Our ball movement on offense created quality shots, and we finished well around the rim.”
Pagosa led Monte Vista 10-8 by the end of the first quarter and expanded that lead to 21-12 by halftime and 33-20 by the end of the third. Monte Vista outscored Pagosa 11-7 in the fourth, but Pagosa held on for the 40-31 win.
The Lady Pirates were led in scoring by Charity Domingo, who finished with 12 points. Kaila Limebrook added eight, Lexi Campbell scored seven, Amber Snarr had five, Ximena Garcia had four, Adelyn Hittle scored three and Liana Vega contributed one point.
The Lady Pirates made four of six free-throw attempts.
As a team, the Lady Pirates hauled down 28 rebounds. Snarr led the way with seven, Hittle had six, Vega and Domingo each had four, Garcia had three, and Limebrook and Campbell each had two.
The girls assisted on 12 of their 16 made field goals, finished with 13 steals, one block and 34 turnovers.
“What stood out most was our ability to respond when Monte Vista made runs—we stayed composed and trusted one another,” wrote Osborn. “When we defend, rebound, and play unselfish basketball, we put ourselves in a great position to be successful.”
The Lady Pirates then traveled to Ignacio to take on the 3A Ignacio Bobcats on Saturday, Jan. 17.
Despite finishing the first quarter down 11-7, the Lady Pirates rallied to outscore the Bobcats 37-20 over the rest of the game to come away with the 44-31 win.
“Ignacio was a gritty game that required a lot of toughness and focus,” wrote Osborn. “It is always hard to come out with a win in Ignacio. We didn’t always play our cleanest basketball, but our effort never wavered.”
Hittle led the team with 14 points in the matchup. Limebrook added 11 of her own, Garcia had nine, Snarr and Domingo each had four, and Campbell had two to round out the scoring for the Lady Pirates.
The team made 13 out of 23 shots from the charity stripe.
The girls hauled down a total of 36 rebounds, led by Campbell with 12. Hittle had six, Limebrook had five, Vega and Garcia each had four, Snarr had three, and Domingo and Victoria Currier each had one.
As a team, the girls assisted on seven of their 14 made field goals, finished with 22 steals and forced a total of 27 Bobcat turnovers. The Lady Pirates turned the ball over 19 times.
“Defensive pressure and hustle plays—loose balls, rebounds, and second-chance opportunities—were the difference,” wrote Osborn. “We leaned heavily on Lexi’s rebounding effort and Kaila’s offense. This game showed our growth mentally; we stayed locked in and found ways to win even when things weren’t perfect.”
The Lady Pirates have two games coming up this weekend.
First, they will travel to Alamosa to take on the Alamosa Mean Moose, who are 7-3 on the season, on Friday, Jan. 23, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Alamosa is the No. 8 team in Colorado 4A girls’ basketball, with the Lady Pirates sitting as the No. 21 team.
The Lady Pirates will then host No. 26 Montezuma-Cortez (4-6) on Saturday, Jan. 24, with tip-off set for 12:30 p.m.
“Both Alamosa and Montezuma-Cortez are strong, well-coached teams that will challenge us in different ways,” wrote Osborn. “We feel confident in our matchups as long as we play our style of basketball—defending as a unit, rebounding, and making smart decisions on offense.”
jsellner@orourkemediagroup.com
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