The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“It feels good, honestly, even though we’re getting thumped”
Despite their winless record and the weekly crushings at the hands of their opponents, the Crested Butte Titans girls basketball team and their coach remain positive.
Coach Mike Moran admits the team’s latest loss to the Custer County Bobcats over the weekend hurt the most, as his team just wasn’t doing much right at all. He wanted to bring in a press to try to disrupt their opponent as well as set up for easy baskets off turnovers, but Custer County proved too fast, shredding the Titans press at-will.
“We tried to play more up-tempo and not play a half-court game but they were just too quick for us up-front and they broke our press easily,” says Moran.
Meanwhile, Custer County’s press handcuffed the Titans team and the Bobcats jumped out to an 11-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.
The Bobcats continued to push the Titans, setting the pace to fit their own game as the Titans just tried to keep up. Making things even worse, the Bobcats shot 14 for 16 from the free throw line while the Titans hit just three of 12 free throws all game.
Amid the tough loss, Moran did get some insight into his younger players and some things clicked. Down 24 points at halftime, Moran regrouped his squad during the break and came out in the third quarter with three freshmen and two sophomores on the court.
Playing against a tough 1-3-1 zone by Custer County, the young Titans players did manage to get their offense working, finding open looks at the basket. But their shooting woes continued as numerous shots missed the mark.
“We were able to swing the ball a lot faster and I was excited to see some really nice stuff from the young kids in the second half,” says Moran. “We just couldn’t put the ball in the bucket.”
The Titans continued working toward the future the rest of the game, eventually falling to the Bobcats 64-11. Sydney Buehler led all Titans with nine points.
“It was probably the most disappointing loss of the season,” says Moran. “But, we had a good team dinner Saturday night and the girls showed up at practice Monday determined to turn it around. It feels good, honestly, even though we’re getting thumped.”
Moran will continue to work with his team on shooting, pressing and man-to-man defense as they look ahead to next season. But they’re not giving up this year just yet. They have five games left in the season and Moran and his team are looking to get at least one win before season’s end.
“We’ve got to find a way to win one,” says Moran. “Three of the last five games are at home, which is nice. We’re definitely the underdog in all of them, but I think there’s a chance.”
