The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Record improves to 11-1
The Lady Titans got a scare from the Holy Trinity Tigers but persevered to emerge with a 66-51 win Friday, January 23 at Mt. Olympus.
The Lady Titans typically decimate teams early, with their full court press setting the stage for easy wins, but Holy Trinity was a different story refusing to fold early under the pressure of the Lady Titans defense.
With legitimate ball handlers and a succinct passing offense, Holy Trinity managed to find gaps in the Lady Titans defense.
Fortunately, where the Crested Butte team struggled as a whole, individual play carried the bulk of the weight with senior Allie McFarland leading the team defensively, and junior Sydney Loyed and freshman Shannon Holleran trading off highlight plays on offense in the first half.
While senior Emma Vosburg struggled with the Holy Trinity defensive scheme, Loyed lit up the scoreboard scoring the Lady Titans first six points, including hitting a three-pointer from deep in the corner.
Holleran took over from there closing the first quarter scoring seven points to help lead the Lady Titans to a five-point lead by the end of the first.
Vosburg joined the offense in the second quarter to score nine points, including hitting two from beyond the arc as the Lady Titans outscored Holy Trinity 15-6 to build a 33-19 lead by halftime.
Senior Jessie Frame then took control of the paint in the third quarter as the Lady Titans looked inside to pull pressure off the perimeter. The move worked as Frame dominated the post with a couple of turnaround buckets and an assist to freshman Sydney Jernigan underneath, leading Crested Butte to a 16-point lead by the fourth quarter.
Vosburg opened the fourth quarter scoring five straight points, and senior Maggie Chlipala battled under the hoop for two more to give the Lady Titans a 52-32 lead and opening up Haley to get her bench players varsity time.
Holy Trinity took the opportunity to put together their full court press, eventually cutting the Lady Titans’ lead down to 10 points before Haley looked back to her starters to seal the win.
After her shaky first quarter, Vosburg went on to lead the team with 26 points and 12 steals. Loyed put up 14 points and pulled down eight rebounds and Holleran finished with 10 points.
“It was an awakening,” says Haley. “It’s good to see other players step up.”
The team pulled back together as a unit on Saturday, January 24 as the Lady Titans rolled to a 69-25 win over Centennial.
It was evident from the opening Centennial possession that the Lady Titans defense and fast break offense was back, as Holleran stole the ball, pushed it ahead to Vosburg, and Vosburg dished to Loyed for the easy lay up.
On the off chance that Centennial did manage to get back on defense, the Lady Titans half-court offense proved equally potent, as McFarland drained back-to-back jump shots from set plays as Crested Butte built a 26-6 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Crested Butte held Centennial to just three points in the second quarter, while the entire team continued to contribute on offense.
Jernigan opened the quarter with two buckets in the paint, Loyed and Vosburg hit from inside and the perimeter and Abby Green closed the first half with two points high off the glass.
In the end, all but two Lady Titans scored in the game, with the bench carrying the momentum through the second half to the 44-point win.
The Lady Titans have their hands full this week as they head over the hills to face the fourth-ranked 2A team in the state, Paonia, on Thursday, January 29.
It is Haley’s hope that the challenge before them will help the team turn the corner in preparation for the post-season.
“It’s a good time to have this game and we’re going to find out what we’re made of.” Says Haley.
They return to league play on Saturday, January 31, when they host Primero at 4:30 p.m.
