Titan girls close season with two wins

Head to district tournament number 3 seed

by Than Acuff

It was a great finish to what has been a great season, so far, for the Crested Butte Titans girls basketball team and there’s still more to do. The Titans closed out the regular season with wins over Custer County and South Park to finish the regular season 13-6, 5-3 in league play, their first winning season since 2013-2014. And it’s far from over as the Titans enter the district tournament the third seeded team and look to push through to regionals.

“I’m so proud of our seniors,” says coach Amanda Reynolds. “They’ve worked so hard to make us competitive over the last few seasons.”

They opened the final weekend of the regular season hosting the Custer County Bobcats on Friday, February 17. It being senior night, Reynolds started seniors Monce Alvarado, Morgan Feltus, Mara Pennie, Ellie Duryea and Blakeley Reynolds on the floor and they led the Titans to a 12-7 lead. The Titans then shifted into overdrive in the second quarter to outscore the Bobcats 20-13 for a 33-20 lead by halftime.

“We were firing on all cylinders and played with passion and intensity,” says Amanda.

With the post season just around the corner and the game being the last home game of the season, Amanda looked to get her bench additional time on the court. Crested Butte continued to set the pace and tone for the game in the second half and rolled to a 58-39 win. Molly Miller led everyone with a double-double scoring 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Blakeley scored 16 points, had six assists and six rebounds, Ellie Duryea knocked down 12 points and Annie Collins led the Titans with 12 rebounds as Crested Butte outrebounded Custer County 53-29.

“We had a really good game and didn’t let up,” says Amanda.

The effort and emotions of their final home game, as well as senior night, did take its toll on the Titans the next day as they boarded the bus to close the season on the road against the South Park Burros.

Fortunately, the Burros posed little trouble for the Titans as Crested Butte took a 10-2 lead in the first quarter. After a lethargic second quarter, Crested Butte took the halftime break to reboot and outscore South Park in the third quarter 16-6 and eventually close with a 38-22 win. They outrebounded South Park 50-37 in the game while Blakeley led all scorers with 16 points, five rebounds and five assists, Collins grabbed another 12 boards while Duryea scored six points and pulled down 11 rebounds.

“We looked nothing like we did the night before,” says Amanda. “We played fatigued but pushed through.”

The Titans open the district tournament against Ignacio on Thursday, February 23. Win or lose, they play again on Saturday, February 25 and could very well push on into the regional tournament the following week.

“Common theme all season,” says Amanda. “When we rebound well and play stifling defense, we score points and win games.”