The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Rebound to take down Telluride
By Than Acuff
It was a tough start for the Crested Butte Titans girls basketball team against the Montezuma-Cortez Panthers Saturday morning, December 16, but they recovered to roll past Telluride later that day.
The Panthers opened the game with a full court press that had the Titans flummoxed and unable to get up the court, resulting in several early turnovers.
A timeout by the Titans allowed them to regroup and start doing a better job of breaking the press but the Panthers continued to force rushed shots and transitioned up court off their rebounds to build a 12-0 lead.
“Our slow start came down to bad defensive positioning and not being ready,” says coach Anna Bressnick. “We weren’t looking up court to find open players.”
Then, something happened. For starters, after a turnover by Molly Miller, she hustled back on defense to block a shot. She then hit four free throws in a row, Grace Bogard started winning the boards and hit a 12-foot jumper off the glass and Lexi Pickering scored six points, including a three-pointer, capping a 12-2 Titans’ run to pull back within two points by the end of the first quarter.
“Molly stepped up and had them off guard,” says Bressnick.
Montezuma-Cortez used the break to make some adjustments, but the Titans continued to battle with the Panthers. Pickering opened the second quarter with an offensive rebound and basket, Miller stole a pass for a breakaway lay up and the Titans had their first lead of the game. The Panthers responded to pull back ahead but Annie Collins dropped two free throws and Lola Wais hit a three-pointer to put the Titans back on top 23-22 midway through the second quarter.
The Panthers picked up the pace up and down the court looking to run the Titans ragged and the move sparked a 6-1 run by the Panthers, forcing the Titans to call another timeout.
Collins then blocked a shot on the Panthers’ next trip up the court and scored off an assist from Miller to close the half with the Titans down just 33-26.
“That run and the second quarter was a glimmer of what we could be,” says Bressnick. “If we don’t give them those 12 points at the start we’re going into halftime with the lead.”
The Panther pace soon wore the Titans down though and foul trouble for the Titans started to rear its ugly head. Montezuma-Cortez opened the third quarter with a 13-2 run and remained on the gas to build a 50-31 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Crested Butte lost another starter to foul trouble early in the fourth quarter, and Bressnick looked to her bench to step in.
“We pulled up a couple freshmen and was highly impressed with their defensive effort,” says Bressnick.
While down 20 points with two minutes left, Crested Butte closed the game on a high note as Miller, Collins and Lola Wright all scored down the stretch in the 60-39 loss. Miller led the team with 12 points, Pickering scored 11 and Collins dropped in nine points.
Crested Butte returned to the floor that afternoon to face the Telluride Miners, a team they had defeated earlier in the season. Knowing the level of their opponent, Bressnick used the game to keep working on a new defense.
“We put in a 1-3-1 defense that week during practice and decided to go exclusively with that and it looked good,” says Bressnick. “It was a much better defensive effort all around.”
The new defense ultimately led to more offense as the Titans were able to pick off passes to the wings and transition up court for easy baskets, pacing the Titans to a 22-3 lead in the first quarter.
“I told them, come out hot, come out firing and they did,” says Bressnick.
Crested Butte then held Telluride scoreless through the second and third quarters to continue building their lead.
“We set the tone early and often,” says Bressnick.
Bressnick was able to get her bench into the game as well to build some depth when they get further into the season, as the Titans cruised to 42-11 win. Miller led the team with 20 points, most of which came off steals, and Collins scored 12.
“Top to bottom it was a good team effort,” says Bressnick.
The Titans face Lake City this week for one last game before the holiday break and Bressnick will continue to push the team to create offense from defense.
“We’re going to continue to fine tune the defense we just put in,” says Bressnick. “We’re creating opportunities off our defense, which is one of our main goals.”
