Titans girls basketball closes out regular season

Find some wins before falling to league opponents

by Sydney Peterson

Titans girls basketball closed out the final week of the regular season with three games at home and a trip to Del Norte.

On Monday, February 12 the Titans suited up to play the Lake City Fourteeners. Lake City is in its first year as an independent team after sharing a program with Creede for the past several years. Taking advantage of Lake City’s small numbers, the Titans executed their press defense and ran their offense with poise, helping them secure a solid win over the Fourteeners. Empowered by their strong efforts on Monday, the Titans earned another win over Gunnison’s JV on Wednesday.

“We haven’t won many games this season,” says head coach Vaden Holmes, “so it was definitely a confidence boost.”

As expected, their game on Friday, February 16 proved to be a much tougher challenge, as the Titans were scheduled to host league powerhouse Sargent.

“It was our last home game and we had nothing to lose,” explains Holmes. “I told the girls to just view it as an opportunity to get better.”

The Titans started the game with high intensity and strong defense. Three minutes into the first quarter, freshman guard Sophia Truex hit a shot from the outside and was fouled during the next play, making one of two free throws. Despite the aggressive start, offensive turnovers plagued the Titans, allowing the Sargent Farmers to take a 10-point lead by the end of the first quarter.

Following her sister’s lead, Siena Truex led the charge during the second quarter, hitting an outside shot and making two free throws, while senior Catherine Washburn added in one point. However, with 45 seconds to go, Truex was injured while diving for a loose ball and was forced to leave the game.

After losing Truex, the Titans struggled to find their rhythm on offense, turning the ball over on multiple occasions.

“Siena is a leader on the floor. We built our team around Siena and Catherine’s leadership, so it is hard to have one of them play without the other,” says Holmes.

Trying to spark her teammates, Washburn found an opening on the block, adding in two points and was fouled to add in one more.

Starting the fourth quarter with a 26-point deficit, the Titans continued to play hard and never gave up. Washburn added in a final three points for a 14-50 final score.

On Saturday, February 17, the Titans travelled to Del Norte for their final game of the regular season. Del Norte is ranked as one of the top teams in the state, and without Siena Truex, the Titans knew it was going to be a battle.

“We only scored four points,” explains Holmes, “but with these girls, it’s never a question of integrity or hard work. It can be the fourth quarter and we’re down by 70 and they are still diving on the floor for loose balls.”

The Titans will head back to Del Norte on Tuesday for the first round of the district tournament.

“I just want the girls to have fun and play better than we did on Saturday,” says Holmes.