Girls basketball take two of three games last week

“They’re bought in, they’re hungry”

[  by Than Acuff  ]

After winning two of the past three games over the last week, the Crested Butte Titans girls basketball team is off to one of its best starts in years with a record of 4-2 heading into league play following the break.

The three-game stretch started when they hosted the Lake City Fourteeners (favorite mascot by the way) on Tuesday, December 13 in mighty Mt. Olympus.

The Titans jumped out to an early lead on the Fourteeners paced by their full court pressure forcing turnovers. Three different Titans got on the scoresheet as Lexi Pickering, Molly Miller and Blakeley Reynolds all found ways to score from a variety of spots to build a 21-3 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Crested Butte kept up the pace in the second quarter with Annie Collins, Grace Bogard, Lola Wais and Ellie Duryea producing points going into halftime up 33-11.

Leigh Harpel opened the third quarter with back-to-back buckets and Mara Pennie joined the list of Titan scorers as Crested Butte finished off the Fourteeners 57-24. Seven different Titans scored in the effort led by a double-double from Duryea including 12 points, 11 from Reynolds and eight points coming from Pickering. Collins pulled down 18 rebounds, most of them on the offensive end.

“It was great to see point production from everyone across the board,” says coach Amanda Reynolds. “We’ve been striving for that. Getting players in the right spot to be successful and seeing that take place has been fun.”

Crested Butte then headed to Gunnison for a two-day tournament opening with the Steamboat Springs Sailors on Friday, December 16.

With the Sailors pushing the pace, the game had a frantic opening, but the Titans were up to the challenge as the two teams traded baskets throughout the first quarter.

Baskets from Harpel, Pickering and Reynolds had the Titans out front with a slim lead, but the Sailors responded to edge out a 12-11 lead by the end of the first quarter.

“Defensively it wasn’t a good start, but we adjusted things and they did answer,” says Amanda.

The Titans’ press at the start of the second quarter coupled with foul trouble for Steamboat Springs opened up several chances for the Titans to build momentum, but shots failed to fall. Collins continued to work both ends of the court for key rebounds to keep Crested Butte on the front foot, but subsequent turnovers stymied their efforts up the court. Meanwhile, Steamboat continued to rack up fouls, but Crested Butte shot a combined three for 10 from the line to allow the Sailors to remain in the game. Crested Butte finished the first half on a high note as Duryea drove the baseline for a layup, Collins blocked a Steamboat shot and Harpel stole the ball and scored but the Sailors remained in the hunt going into halftime down just 18-17.

The battle continued in the third quarter, but Steamboat got hot and managed to close out the third quarter with a 5-2 run to build a 26-20 lead. Following a rough opening minute to the fourth quarter for Crested Butte, they started climbing back into the game led by eight points from Reynolds to cut the Sailors’ lead down to one with 30 seconds on the clock. 

The Titans had their chances down the stretch to take the game, but unfortunately their efforts missed the mark and Steamboat escaped with a 34-31 win. Reynolds led the team with 17 points.

“We just can’t have as many turnovers as we had in that game,” says Amanda. “If we had done just a few things differently, we win that game. If we just take care of the things that we do well, we can win games.”

The upside of the loss is that it further showed what the Titans need as they continue to build into a competitive team.

“It was a game that will help us prepare for league play,” says Amanda. “It dramatically highlighted what we need to work on. We’re starting to know how to compete, how to put a full game together quarter by quarter by quarter.”

Crested Butte returned to the floor in Gunnison on Saturday, December 17 to face the Telluride Miners. The Titans jumped out to a 10-2 lead by the end of the first quarter and continued to push building a 28-5 lead by halftime and eventually cruising to a 49-11 win. Pickering, Reynolds and Collins all scored double digits with Harpel adding in nine as the Titans continue to diversify their point production.

They head into the break with a full slate of workouts on tap and the team is rising to the challenge as they ready themselves for the start of league play when they return to action.

“They’re bought in, they’re hungry,” says Amanda. “I see their confidence growing and it’s good.”