The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“It took us a while to get warmed up”
Long bus rides can suck the life out of a team—and that’s what happened to the Lady Titans basketball team when they traveled to Debeque on Friday, January 18.
Fortunately, after a sleepy first half the Lady Titans emerged from the locker room halftime talk from coach MaryMike Haley, rejuvenated to cruise to a 67-43 win.
Debeque had only five players to play in its game against the Lady Titans but those five players battled hard against the Lady Titans for the first two quarters.
Debeque opened the game with a full court press in an effort to take advantage of the sleepy Crested Butte squad. The Lady Titans countered with its own press but Debeque managed to find seams through the Lady Titans for a handful of baskets.
The Lady Titans struggled with shooting through the first half as they built a tenuous 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter and increased it 13 points by the end of the half.
While a 13-point lead seems worthy of a coach’s praise at halftime, Haley felt otherwise. She shared her thoughts on the team’s performance at halftime and the Lady Titans took it to heart, coming out in the third quarter with a renewed attitude.
“It took us a while to get warmed up,” says Haley.
Once they did warm up, the Lady Titans lit up the scoreboard for 38 points in the second half, led by senior Emma Coburn and junior Emma Vosburg. Vosburg scored a career-high 29 points in the game, including four from three-point land, and Coburn had 18 points on the evening while pulling down a career-best 24 rebounds.
After building a solid lead in the third quarter, Haley worked her reserves into the game and shifted the offense to get sophomore Sydney Loyed quality varsity time at the point guard position.
Loyed responded, overcoming nerves to run the Lady Titans set offense and score 13 points.
“She ran the point and started to get some confidence, which is great,” says Haley. “Everybody that came in off the bench played really well.”
The win improves the Lady Titans’ record to 6-2. While a win is a win, Haley continues to search for the key to getting a full four-quarter effort from her team.
“Overall, I’m always excited to beat Debeque,” says Haley. “The second half was much better but we were still sloppy. I’ve got to figure out how to motivate them to play at their level all game.”
The Lady Titans now enter the meat of their schedule, with a series of league games on the horizon. They host Ridgway on Friday, January 25 at 6:30 p.m. and then head to Vail Christian for a game on Saturday, January 26.
