Lady Titans continue to chip away at league teams

“We’ve got to get it done on the court”

The Crested Butte Lady Titans could very well be setting themselves up as the postseason spoiler as they continue to step up their game with each league opponent. The hope is that by the time they hit the playoffs, the Lady Titans will be the team everyone else fears.

“I think we will peak in time for the playoffs,” says head coach Mike Moran. “My hope is that teams will be afraid to play us in the post season.”
The 2A Southern Peaks league is notoriously tough and while the Lady Titans are hanging around toward the bottom of the standings right now, they are making waves among some of the top tier programs in their division.
On Friday, January 24 they hosted the Sanford Indians, a perennial 2A state powerhouse and while Crested Butte came up short by the final horn, they managed to find some chinks in the Indians’ armor.
The Lady Titans opened the game running with the Indians and matching them in scoring up and down the court. After Crested Butte took a quick two-point lead, Sanford tied it up and the teams were notched in a 6-6 tie heading into the second quarter.
The game continued back-and-forth through the second quarter as the Lady Titans were down 17-14 at halftime.
“We really pushed them,” says Moran. “They’re legit and we really competed.”
Sanford responded to the Lady Titans pressure in the third quarter and spent the rest of the game slowly but surely building a comfortable gap to sneak out of Mt. Olympus with 51-35 win.
“They picked up their level of play and were beating us up and down the court,” says Moran. “We had some mental breakdowns and those mental lapses can really pile up.”
Shannon Costello led the team with 21 points and Monika Olesen continues to lead the charge on rebounds with her hustle pulling down seven boards.
While they flirted with an upset win for one half only to eventually fall, Moran says the team continues to gain steam.
“We’re absolutely motivated by the way we’re playing,” says Moran. “These girls just don’t quit.”
Crested Butte returned the next day to face the Cripple Creek Pioneers. The Pioneers are struggling in league play and while the Lady Titans knew the game would be easier than Sanford, they carried their pace from the night before against Cripple Creek.
“We wanted to continue to play our game,” says Moran. “Cripple Creek didn’t put a whole lot of pressure on us so we were able to move the ball.”
Crested Butte opened up an 18-4 lead on Cripple Creek in the first quarter and kept the throttle down through the next two quarters to build a 46-15 lead by the end of the third quarter cruising to a 51-22 win in the end. Costello was the top scorer with 18 points and Suzanna Dumas found her groove on offense scoring 15 points.
“Everything looked good and it was a good win for us,” says Moran.
Crested Butte heads to Sierra Grande this Friday, January 31 and Moran is looking for his team to start making a move over the course of the next two weeks.
“We’ve got three or four games coming up that we should win to get us back in the hunt,” says Moran. “We need to put some space between us and the bottom of the pack. We’ve got to get it done on the court.”