The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
8-1, first place in Southern Peaks league
The Crested Butte Lady Titans continue to run their opponents into the ground, putting together three wins in a row coming out of the Christmas break.
The last time Lady Titans coach MaryMike Haley saw the 2A Center squad, it was her first season coaching the Lady Titans.
“I didn’t really know what I was doing then,” admits Haley. “They pummeled us my first year coaching.”
Heading into the game this year, Haley was still a bit shell-shocked from the loss years ago. One thing for sure, she knew that Center would play classic San Luis Valley-style basketball.
“We weren’t really sure what to expect,” says Haley. “Like all of the teams from there, even if they’re not very good, they’re scrappy.”
The Vikings gave the Lady Titans trouble for the first half, with a long pass transition game and their aforementioned “scrappy” play.
Senior Allie McFarland and junior Sydney Loyed hit two big buckets at the close of the first quarter and senior Jessie Frame pulled down an offensive board and scored at the buzzer in the second quarter, to bring the Lady Titans to a slim 22-19 lead at the close of a hectic first half.
Coach Haley made some “suggestions” to her team and the Lady Titans turned it around in the second half.
“We were just being lazy,” says Haley. “I let them have it at halftime.”
The Lady Titans built a seven-point lead midway through the third quarter on baskets from Loyed, McFarland, sophomore Shannon Holleran and senior Emma Vosburg, but the Vikings came charging back once again.
After giving up six straight points to Center, Haley called a timeout to remind her team of their roles on defense.
The break worked as the Lady Titans came out of the break to score the final six points of the quarter to take a 36-29 lead into the fourth quarter.
By then, the Lady Titans speed and fitness proved too much for the Vikings, as Crested Butte outscored Center 20-9 in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 56-38 win.
Vosburg led all scorers with 22 points, Loyed and Holleran dropped in eight apiece, and McFarland complemented her tenacious defense with seven points on the other end.
The Lady Titans returned to league play two days later to face Moffat and Sierra Grande in back-to-back road games.
The Lady Titans followed the same format in the Moffat game as they did against Center, with a sleepy first-half performance and an explosive fourth quarter.
While the Lady Titans managed to build a 29-16 lead over Moffat in the first half, the third quarter proved troublesome, forcing Crested Butte to reassess the situation.
“Again, we had to regroup,” says Haley. “We were playing at their speed but in the fourth quarter things really started to click and we started running the floor. The fast break is coming together and it just killed them.”
Crested Butte outscored Moffat 16-7 in the final quarter to emerge with a 52-31 win and build some momentum heading into their game against their toughest league opponent, Sierra Grande, on Saturday, January 10.
It all came together for the Lady Titans against Sierra Grande, as they put together four solid quarters to hand Sierra Grande a 56-40 loss.
All pistons were firing for Crested Butte as Holleran and freshman Sydney Jernigan pulled down 10 rebounds each, Vosburg erupted for 34 points and Loyed threw in 11 points in support.
“I was really excited with how we played,” says Haley. “Pulling down rebounds allowed us to hit our fast break and that just makes a huge difference for us. To come away with a win there will boost our confidence.”
The Lady Titans remain on the road this weekend to play Aguilar and Cotopaxi and then return home to Mt. Olympus to host Holy Trinity and Centennial on Friday and Saturday, January 23-24.
