The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“We were flustered at first with the pace of the game”
by Than Acuff
Scrolling through the Crested Butte Titans girls’ basketball roster you can’t help but notice: They’re a young team, a very young team. In fact, they have just one senior, Catherine Washburn, and six freshmen on the team. That inexperience made it tough for the Titans when they hosted the 1A powerhouse Antonito Trojans on Saturday, December 9, falling 69-16.
The Trojans proved to be a stout opponent, flush with a variety of weapons.
“I will say, they were a well disciplined team, a faster team with a lot of post-play,” explains coach Vaden Holmes.
That posed a big problem for the young Titans team as the Trojans jumped out to a 22-0 lead after one quarter of play. While the Titans scrambled to catch up, there were some glimmers as they tightened up on defense, including a big block from Kelly Sherman as the Trojans looked to put up another quick two points. The Trojans continued to attack through the second quarter but Crested Butte refused to give up, as Alex Downing recorded two more blocks and drained a 14-foot jumper and Washburn stole a pass and darted up-court for a quick lay-up to end the first half.
“We were flustered at first with the pace of the game,” says Holmes. “I just kept reminding them about the two big post players, how to defend them and that rebounding is incredibly important.”
Antonito eased off a bit but kept pushing the pace enough to drive the score up, but the Titans started finding their rhythm on offense. Siena Truex knocked down a couple of three-pointers and ball movement on offense led to a short-range jumper from Kate Sherman. Kelly drained a baseline jumper and Sophia Truex tacked on a basket inside in the waning minutes of the game.
“I just told them to calm down and reminded them that it wasn’t any different from what they’ve been seeing and I think they did much better in the second half,” says Holmes.
The Titans will hit the road on Friday, December 15 to face Ridgway and then will return home Saturday, December 16 to host Telluride.
“Right now we’re working on feeling the pressure and being able to react to it,” says Holmes, “building their confidence with the ball. I want to see us executing what we know how to execute and doing what we’ve been working on in practice.”
