The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“It was a great game, until the second half”
Coach MaryMike Haley has been preaching all season that if her team can just put four quarters together, in one game, they can be competitive with anyone.
When they headed to Custer County on Friday, February 10, not only could the Lady Titans be competitive, Haley believed her team could come away with a win. That is, of course, if they put together four quarters of basketball.
She believed it even though the team would be playing without starting point guard junior Maddie Stichter. After the first quarter of the game, the team started to believe it as well.
Sophomore Shannon Costello was handed the point guard role and handled it well, as the Lady Titans made it through the first quarter on athletic ability alone.
Custer County built a 15-9 lead by the end of the first quarter but the Lady Titans built confidence that they took into the second quarter, when they outscored Custer County 13-6 to take a 22-21 lead into halftime.
“They started to believe they could play with Custer County,” says Haley. “They started running their offense, running a fast break. We had a ton of confidence.”
About the only thing that held the Lady Titans back from breaking the game wide open was free throws as Crested Butte struggled from the line the entire first half.
“We were just ice cold,” says Haley. “If we hit our free throws, we would have been up by 10 points.”
Then something happened. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, the Lady Titans stopped playing. Haley believes it was a mix of issues with fatigue and lack of leadership at the top.
“When they get tired and worn down, it all goes out the door,” says Haley. “It’s hard when a player like Maddie, who brings a calm presence to the floor, isn’t out there.”
It certainly wasn’t a result of some monumental shift on Custer County’s part.
“They really didn’t do anything different,” says Haley. “We just came out asleep at the wheel.”
Struggling on offense, tired on defense and cold from the line made for a horrific second half for the Lady Titans. Custer County scored 36 points in the second half while Crested Butte managed to sink just two free throws for a total of two points all half, as they fell 57-24.
“It was a great game until the second half,” says Haley.
Elisabet Desmarais led the team, scoring 12 points, with Costello adding in seven points.
The Lady Titans will close the regular season with Antonito on Friday, February 17 and then host league leading Sangre de Cristo on Saturday in Mt. Olympus on Saturday. Tip-off for the girl’s JV is at 2 p.m. with the varsity starting at 5 p.m.
“We need to go into Antonito and win,” says Haley.
If they beat Antonito on Friday, the Lady Titans have a chance to host a district playoff game on Monday, February 20 in Mt. Olympus.
