The Pagosa Springs High School Lady Pirate basketball squad extended its run of undefeated league play last week after notching wins against Intermountain League (IML) rivals Bayfield and Centauri, propelling the team to the top of the 3A/4A IML standings as it embarks on the second half of the season’s league play.
With the wins, the Lady Pirates are now 6-0 in league play and 12-4 overall.
The Lady Pirates also now sit as the No. 4 team in Colorado 4A girls’ basketball.
“Overall we are very excited to have gotten through the first round of league play 6-0,” coach Sarah Osborn wrote in an email to The SUN. “However, we have to continue to get better and play our best basketball going into the second round of league play.”
Visiting Bayfield on Jan. 31, the team held the Wolverines to three points in the game’s first half and led by 27 heading into the final quarter before closing out the game 51-20.
The Wolverines sit at seventh in the IML.
“We wanted to execute and focus on the details against Bayfield,” Osborn wrote. “I think our team did a good job of getting everyone involved in the game and getting a large lead early so that our younger varsity girls could get some playing time and experience.”
In Bayfield, Elizabeth Currier led the Pagosa offense with 19 points, while Lexi Campbell added seven and Kylie Ketchum added six.
The team brought down 19 offensive rebounds, with Adelyn Hittle and Campbell each tallying five. Karsyn Shahan led the defensive rebounding effort, contributing five to the team’s total of 20.
The Lady Pirates sunk three of 12 free-throw attempts and counted 15 steals against the Wolverines — five from Currier — as well as 15 assists, with Shahan responsible for five of them. The team had 14 total turnovers.
Matters would grow significantly more complicated for the Lady Pirates at home one day later against Centauri in a game Osborn states she knew would be a “close battle.”
“Centauri is well coached and has a talented team that has been playing well all season,” Osborn wrote. “We knew that it would be close and that no matter the score we had to play our best all four quarters.”
The Falcons arrived for the Feb. 1 contest — the first between the two squads this season — riding a five-game win streak and with a loud contingent of support.
Trailing 9-8 after one quarter of play, the Lady Pirates kept the score within five points throughout the second but trailed by four at halftime — a first in league play for the squad.
“Our team is used to playing in close games against Centauri and we talked about how it would take composure and execution to get the win,” Osborn writes.
The Pagosa defense held Centauri to two points in the third quarter, with the Lady Pirate offense adding nine. That effort set the stage for a contentious final quarter that saw both teams trading leads and the score tied with less than a minute to play.
Recalling the game’s electric final stretch, Osborn wrote, “In the last minutes … when we were tied we talked about continuing to play great defense without fouling and giving ourselves good opportunities to score. [Shahan] had a huge steal and fast break close to the end that gave us the lead by 3.”
She adds, “We also had all 7 girls that played score, that is tough to defend when all 7 girls are contributing on offense.”
Trailing 27-30 with seconds remaining, the Falcons attempted a 3-point shot at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. Fans erupted from both cheering blocks as that attempt fell short, with the visitors bemoaning the clock and the home court celebrating a Lady Pirate win.
Shahan led Pagosa’s offense against Centauri with 10 points, followed by Currier, who had six, and Ketchum and Amber Snarr, who each had four.
The team finished with 13 defensive rebounds — which included five each from Snarr and Shahan — and seven offensive.
There were 20 Pagosa turnovers on the day, as well as six steals and six blocks. The Lady Pirates made nine of 19 free-throw attempts.
“Next time we play them we need to do a much better job taking care of the ball, we had too many turnovers in a close game and we could have put them away a little earlier if we had made our free throws,” Osborn wrote.
Centauri now sits as the No. 2 team in Colorado 3A girls’ basketball.
Looking ahead, the squad will get second looks at conference opponents beginning Friday against Monte Vista.
The two teams last faced one another Jan. 17, with Pagosa winning 42-26.
With a 3-2 league record, Monte Vista is currently ranked third in the IML standings.
Friday’s game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at Pagosa Springs High School.
On Saturday, Feb. 8, the Lady Pirates are set to host Ignacio for a 2:30 p.m. game.
The teams last faced-off Jan. 18, with Pagosa winning 51-22.
Ignacio, 1-4 in league play, is currently ranked fifth.
“We have a very tough league with a lot of good teams,” Osborn writes. “We will need to be ready for everyone’s best game against us.”
garrett@pagosasun.com
