The Pagosa Springs High School girls basketball team picked a big win over 3A’s No. 5 Centauri last week to move to 12-9 overall with one regular-season game left.
“I’m really proud of the way the girls competed for four full quarters,” wrote coach Sarah Osborn in an email to The SUN. “It was fun to go to battle with them and come out with the win on our last home game and senior night.”
The Lady Pirates hosted the Centauri Falcons on Saturday, Feb. 21.
The girls spent most of the game trailing — they were down 23-19 at halftime and 30-28 at the start of the fourth quarter — but they stuck it out and got the win.
With seconds left in the game Addie Hittle hit the game-winning 3-pointer, putting the Lady Pirates up 37-36.
The Lady Pirates would not have been in the position to win if it weren’t for the contributions of everyone on the team, emphasized Osborn.
“It truly was a complete team effort and that is exactly what you want to see this late in the season,” she wrote. “Everyone coming together trusting each other, executing their roles, executing a game plan, and battling every possession.”
Charity Domingo led the team with 13 points, Kaila Limebrook had 11, Hittle had five, Ximena Garcia had four points, and Lexi Campbell and Amber Snarr each had two points to round out the scoring.
Hittle and Campbell led the team in rebounding with six apiece. Domingo, Garcia, Limebrook and Liana Vega all had three rebounds. Snarr finished with one.
As a team, the Lady Pirates grabbed 25 total rebounds.
They also assisted on seven of their 10 made field goals, finished with 17 steals — including 10 from Hittle — and turned the ball over 23 times.
“Earlier in the season we might not have closed out a game like that, but this group has matured,” wrote Osborn. “They believe in each other, they communicate well, and they’re willing to do the little things that win tight games. That kind of toughness is exactly what you need heading into postseason play.”
The Lady Pirates are currently ranked 12th in 4A and are on track to make the postseason with one regular-season game remaining.
The girls will go on the road to face the 43rd-ranked 3A Bayfield Wolverines, who are 3-18 on the season, in their final game on Saturday, Feb. 28.
Action will begin at 2:30 p.m.
“We need to bring the same energy and focus from the opening tip against Bayfield that we had this weekend against Centauri,” Osborn wrote.
>