The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Overcome turnover troubles
It wasn’t pretty but it was a win. The Lady Titans pulled off a 38-28 victory over the Cedaredge Bruins on Tuesday, December 18 in Mt. Olympus.
Cedaredge’s quickness posed problems for the Lady Titans throughout the game, as they battled for every loose ball and maintained intense pressure on the Lady Titans ball handlers.
Junior Emma Vosburg carried the Lady Titans early in the game, hitting two three-point shots to lead Crested Butte to an 8-2 lead by the close of the opening quarter.
Senior Emma Coburn then took the reins at the start of the second quarter, driving to the hole twice for two quick buckets and hitting a free-throw to build a nine-point Lady Titans lead.
The Bruins made a run at the Lady Titans midway through the second quarter with an oppressive full-court-press and crashing the boards for rebounds, disrupting the Lady Titans’ offense. Cedaredge pulled to within three points of the Lady Titans before sophomore Sydney Loyed sank a 12-foot jump shot to break up the Bruins’ run.
Vosburg cut off a Cedaredge pass with four seconds left in the half and drove the length of the court for the last-second lay-up, salvaging the quarter for Crested Butte to take a 17-12 lead into halftime.
Crested Butte took back the boards in the third quarter as junior Maggie Chlipala and Coburn battled the Bruins in the paint.
The Lady Titans opened the third quarter, scoring five straight points, but Cedaredge’s press took hold once again, forcing turnovers and scoring off miscues.
Coburn capped the seesaw quarter, spinning inside through traffic to score at the buzzer to rebuild the Lady Titans’ six-point advantage.
Junior Jessie Frame stepped into the mix at the start of the fourth quarter. Frame found Vosburg open for a six-foot jump shot and then pulled down an offensive rebound and scored to give Crested Butte a 28-18 lead one minute into the final quarter.
Loyed buried a 14-foot jumper and Vosburg sank her third three-point shot of the game—she led Crested Butte with 18 points in the game, looking to put Cedaredge away, but the Bruins battled back once again.
The Bruins rattled off eight straight points to cut the Lady Titans’ lead back down to five with a minute left in the game, but the Lady Titans hit five of eight free-throws down the stretch to hang on for the 38-28 win.
The Lady Titans will take a break for Christmas holidays and start up again on Wednesday, January 9 when they head to Nucla. Their next home game is against Moffat on Friday, January 11 at 4 p.m.
