Lady Titans take two of three in weekend road trip full of drama

Drop nail biter to Holy Trinity

It was the mother of all road trips for the Crested Butte Lady Titans basketball team, as they hit the pavement for three games in three days.
The trip had everything: blow-out wins, a nail-biter loss and a coach ejection. When all was said and done, the Lady Titans returned home with two wins and a loss and are knocking on the door of first place in the Southern Peaks league.
“We’re right there,” says Lady Titans coach MaryMike Haley. “It’s really anybody’s at this point.”
Crested Butte opened the weekend with a 48-12 win over Primero Thursday, January 21. A lackluster first quarter by the Lady Titans starters had coach Haley in a quandary. Should she sit them and potentially give the game away, or see if they could pull themselves out of their basketball banality?
Haley opted for option A and the starters were benched as Haley looked to her JV players to refocus the team as a whole.
“I let the starters sit there and watch,” says Haley.
Junior Melissa Gibbens scored six points as the Lady Titans JV team took a 12-8 lead heading into the locker room.
The “quiet time” for the Lady Titans starters worked as they retook the floor in the second half to outscore Primero 36-4 for the win.
Sophomore Sydney Jernigan led the team with 12 points, 10 in the fourth quarter alone. Junior Shannon Holleran finished with 10 points and freshman point guard Maddie Stichter closed with nine points.
Controversy then hit the Lady Titans like a Mack truck in their game against Holy Trinity on Friday night.
Holy Trinity established itself as a giant killer, taking down league leader and previously undefeated Sierra Grande earlier in the season, and would be a stout opponent for the Lady Titans.
To make matters even harder for the Lady Titans, Haley found herself in a verbal “disagreement” with one of the refs early in the game. The “disagreement” turned into a technical for Haley. Once Haley suggested to the ref that he “do his job,” she was handed a second technical and ejected from the gym.
“I was not really happy,” admits Haley.
Titans’ boys’ assistant coach Brandin Hamilton was then called into duty to coach the girls through the ensuing battle with Holy Trinity.
After falling behind 10 points in the fourth quarter, the Lady Titans scratched their way back to within two points in the final seconds with the game down to the last shot.
Unfortunately, the Crested Butte comeback fell short of sealing the deal and Holy Trinity escaped with a 45-43 win.
Senior Sydney Loyed led the team with 19 points, including five baskets from three-point land. Holleran tossed in 10 points and Stichter scored nine points.
“I just told my girls I messed up,” says Haley. “They’re pretty hungry for Holy Trinity next time.”
With Haley back on the bench, the Lady Titans closed the weekend with a 42-34 win over Centennial.
Crested Butte built a 23-9 lead by halftime and Haley turned to her bench to finish the game.
Centennial pressed in the second half mounting a comeback, but the starters were sent back in to seal the deal.
Jernigan and Holleran scored 15 and 13 points, respectively, and Loyed added eight points to the Lady Titans offense.
The Lady Titans league record now stands at 6-3. They could peak just in time for a strong run in the playoffs in February.
“They’re starting to figure it out,” says Haley. “Each week they get more confident and each week they get better. Who knows? It might just click in time for post season play.”
The Lady Titans return home this weekend to host Creede on Friday, January 29 at mighty Mt. Olympus. Tip-off is at 4 p.m.