Lady Titans’ season ends with loss

Future looks bright

Given what I witnessed out of the Lady Titans basketball team in the final weeks of the 2012 season, they will be a force to be reckoned with as soon as next year.
Here’s a team that had just three seniors, only one of whom remained injury-free. As a result, coach Marymike Haley turned to her underclassmen to learn the game and bring it to new level in one of the strongest 2A leagues in the state.
It was, as they say, baptism by fire.
And while youth and inexperience reared its ugly head throughout the season and into the district playoffs, the team provided some glimmers of hope in the latter stages of the year. Hope that quite possibly could turn into true hard court talent.
The Lady Titans closed the regular season a week ago with a big upset win over Sangre de Cristo to earn the sixth seed heading into the post-season.
Their first opponent, Antonito, forfeited and the Lady Titans advanced to the next round to face the third-seeded Sargent Farmers.
The Farmers are a perennial powerhouse in the 2A Southern Peaks league and proved it Tuesday, February 21 handing Crested Butte a 47-24 thumping.
The Lady Titans hung in the game early as the teams finished the first quarter notched in a 9-9 tie. But Sargent erupted in the second quarter to outscore the Lady Titans 18-9, taking a nine-point lead into halftime.
“We were executing our zone pretty well but we were sagging and they started shooting from the outside, and that just killed us,” says Haley.
The game went from bad to worse midway through the third quarter. The Lady Titans defense was stout to open the second half, holding Sargent scoreless for the first three minutes. But they struggled on offense and the scoring drought dashed the confidence of the Lady Titans. The Farmer offense started scoring and the Lady Titans succumbed to their penchant for flat play in the third quarter to fall behind 41-20, eventually falling 47-24. Junior point guard Maddie Stichter led the team with 11 points.
“Once Sargent started scoring, our energy level dropped,” says Haley.
Despite the loss, the team’s morale rebounded as Crested Butte returned to the court on Friday, February 24 to face the South Park Burros.
The last time the two teams met was the first time the Lady Titans put together four quarters of good basketball in one game this season to take the win.
“By Friday they were in good spirits and confidence was high,” says Haley.
The two teams traded baskets throughout the first half as Crested Butte took a 20-19 lead into the third quarter. This time the Lady Titans came out of the locker room fired up to play, outscoring South Park 17-6 in the third quarter to build a 37-25 lead.
“We switched to a man-to-man defense and that made a big difference,” says Haley. “I asked Maddie and Toni Brown to step it up and that upperclassmen leadership made the difference on the floor.”
Crested Butte carried their momentum into the fourth quarter to hold off the Burros for the 49-39 win and remain alive in the post-season. Sophomore Shannon Costello led the team with 23 points, Stichter scored 13 and senior Brown added in eight.
“They went in and played the way they know how to play,” says Haley. “
Their post-season run came to a screeching halt early Saturday morning though as they faced Custer County at 8 a.m. Crested Butte teams, no mater what the sport, are notoriously slow starters when it comes to early games, and such was the case against Custer County.
The Lady Titans managed just seven points in the first half to fall behind 23-7 at the half and never recovered, falling 54-19 and putting an end to their season.
“We couldn’t get it together at all,” says Haley. “It was rough.”
Crested Butte finished the season with a record of 9-13. While it’s always tough to finish a season with a losing record, Haley sees a bright future if her team continues to work hard.
“We need to move forward from here and see what the off-season is going to look like and if they remain dedicated to getting better,” says Haley. “I think they’re as talented as any team I’ve ever coached if they just tap into their talent.”