Titans girls’ basketball fall in final games of regular season

Looking to end on high note this week

By Than Acuff 

It was the toughest week of the season for the Crested Butte Titans girls’ basketball team as the school’s February Break left the team depleted for practices and games resulting in a series of road losses.

“We did the best we could with what we had to work with,” says head coach Anna Bressnick.

It started on Tuesday, February 18 as the Titans headed to Leadville to face the Lake County Panthers. With a full squad, the Titans most likely come out of Leadville with a win. But with the Titans’ leading scorers gone and just two starters left to play and a host of players asked to step into a varsity game, it was going to be a challenge that got even harder as the Panthers brought a physical game to the floor.

“They weren’t a very good team, but they were scrappy and very physical,” says Bressnick.

 With such a depleted squad, Bressnick called on her two varsity players Lola Wright and Rio Crabtree to jump into leadership roles for the game including asking Crabtree to take over as the point guard.

“I just told them, keep the squad together, run the offense as best you can and they did,” says Bressnick.

But Lake County’s physicality wore on the Titans as the Panthers built a 12-7 lead by halftime and then continued to build on that lead through the second half to hand Crested Butte a 26-14 loss.

“Rio played tough and did what she could to try and keep everyone in sync,” says Bressnick. “It was a really good learning experience for Rio and Lola that will carry through as they continue to play basketball.”

Some players returned to action for their next game on Friday, February 21, but not until game day, so practices during the break were pretty much non-existent as they prepared for the Sargent Farmers, who were 14-4 heading into the game and in second place in the league.

“The teams that beat us by 20, they beat by 20,” says Bressnick. “They’re a good squad, well-coached and disciplined, no real weak links.”

The Farmers put the throttle down all four quarters never letting up to finish with a 54-18 win. Molly Miller led the Titans with eight points with Ella Davis scoring five.

“We got out there, moved the ball around and held it together as best as we could,” says Bressnick.

The Titans remained on the road to face the South Park Burros on Saturday, February 22 and found another physical opponent in the Burros that left little room for the Titans pressing nearly the entire game.

Crested Butte battled with the Burros through the opening four minutes of the game and Wright knocked down a 10-foot jumper, but South Park was relentless up and down the court building a 9-2 lead in the first quarter that became a 20-5 lead by halftime.

While the Titans struggled on offense, they did remain tough on defense and Davis and Miller did what they could to battle for rebounds to deny South Park second chances. The big highlight for the Titans in the 33-14 loss came late in the game as exchange student Shirin El Abasiri got in the game and battled in the paint for a bucket amidst a flurry of Burro arms and elbows.

“I’m glad she got one, been wanting that all season,” says Bressnick. “We just couldn’t really get it together. It was a frustrating game. They’ve showed all season they’re mentally tough, but it’s been a long season.”

There is some light ahead though as the Titans enter the post season with a full squad and have three more games this week before the conclusion of the season, two of which look good for the Titans on paper.

“We got some winnable games this week,” says Bressnick. “We’re gonna go get it and end on a high note.”