After winning two of their past three games, the Pagosa Springs High School Lady Pirate basketball team is now 8-8 on the season.
The Lady Pirates began the three-game stretch with a 49-11 win over the Bayfield Wolverines at home on Friday, Jan. 30.
“Our Bayfield game was a really fun one for the whole team,” wrote Sarah Osborn in an email to The SUN. “Our starters and 6th man went out there and took care of business early which gave our swings and younger girls an opportunity to see the varsity floor and have tons of minutes and gain experience. It was truly a whole team effort and fun to be a part of.”
The Lady Pirates led 15-0 at the end of the first and 32-6 at halftime.
The Lady Pirates had a balanced scoring attack, with nine players scoring in the game. Ximena Garcia led the team with 13 points, Kaila Limebrook had nine, and Lexi Campbell and Victoria Currier each had five. Charity Domingo, Adelyn Hittle and Amber Snarr each had four points. Dawson Iverson had three points, and Bella Adkisson rounded out the scoring with two points.
The team shot 64 percent from the free-throw line and assisted on 12 of their 19 made field goals.
The girls grabbed 28 rebounds, led by six from Hittle. Currier, Limebrook and Snarr each pulled down four. Campbell logged three. Maddie DeClark, Ahrianna Martinez and Iverson each had two, and Garcia had one.
The Lady Pirates finished with 16 steals and only turned the ball over 11 times.
The Lady Pirates then traveled to La Jara on Saturday, Jan. 31, and lost 48-37 to the Centauri Falcons, who sit as the No. 4 team in Colorado 3A girls’ basketball.
The Lady Pirates came out slow in the first half and struggled to connect passes, but after halftime they came out with a new energy, indicates Osborn.
“They were relentless in their defense and started hitting big shots,” wrote Osborn “We had huge momentum going into the fourth, but we had dug too big of a hole for us to get out of.”
Centauri led 12-7 at the end of the first and 31-11 at halftime. The Lady Pirates outscored Centauri 9-6 in the third and 17-11 in the fourth.
Limebrook led the girls with 12 points. Snarr added nine, Domingo and Garcia each had six, and Campbell rounded out the scoring with four points.
As a team, the Lady Pirates assisted on seven of their 14 made field goals and shot 63 percent from the charity stripe.
The team notched 30 total rebounds, led by Hittle’s nine. Campbell and Limebrook tallied seven each. Garcia had four rebounds, Snarr had two and Domingo had one.
The Lady Pirates finished with six steals and turned the ball over 15 times.
The Lady Pirates were back home on Tuesday, Feb. 3, winning their matchup with the Del Norte Tigers 37-25.
The Lady Pirates, however, found themselves on the wrong end of the 7-2 score at the end of the first.
The team struggled to make shots early, but an and-one 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer from Hittle capped off a 17-point second quarter and completely changed the momentum of the game, wrote Osborn.
The Pirates led 19-13 at the half and 31-18 at the end of the third.
Hittle led the Lady Pirates in scoring with 11 points in the game. Garcia added eight, Campbell and Snarr each had six, Domingo scored four, and Limebrook rounded out the scoring with two points.
As a team, the Lady Pirates assisted on six of their 13 made field goals and shot 53 percent from the free-throw line.
The team picked up 24 rebounds, led by 10 from Campbell. Garcia and Hittle each added five. Snarr pulled down two. Domingo and Limebrook each added one.
The team finished with six steals and turned the ball over 18 times.
“The girls were patient and let the offense come to them,” Osborn wrote. “Our press was also one of our strong suits against them. They struggled with the full court pressure.”
The Lady Pirates have two more games this week against 3A opponents.
The first is on the road against Monte Vista on Friday, Feb. 6, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Monte Vista is 10-5 on the season.
The second is back at home against Ignacio on Saturday, Feb. 7, beginning at 2:30 p.m.
The Bobcats are 3-13 on the season.
Pagosa, who sits as the No. 18 team in Colorado 4A girls’ basketball, beat both teams earlier in the season.
“I feel really good about this group and their mindset,” wrote Osborn. “They believe in each other, they’re competing hard every night, and they understand what’s at stake. If we continue to improve and stay focused one game at a time, I like our chances heading into the playoffs in March.”
jsellner@orourkemediagroup.com
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