Lady ’Cats win exciting rematch, 46-25
Three-pointers by senior DaLaney Wesner and junior Juliann Avila helped Ignacio outscore Bayfield’s girls 15-4 during the final 6:48 of regulation Thursday evening, Feb. 13, and the Lady Bobcats – with almost four players in double figures offensively – ultimately claimed victory by a 46-25 margin.
“Our offensive game was really good in the beginning. Towards the end we got tired; we had to switch it up because they figured out what we were doing,” said IHS sophomore Maliyah Martinez, “and our shots weren’t falling. But we learned that fast breaks are our best friend, pretty much.”
“We were just playing slow today; for some reason we were just not ‘into’ it,” head coach Travis Nanaeto said. “But, yeah, the girls started working together towards the end. Working the ball, finding the right shot and taking it – I always give them the green light: When no one’s on you, take it!”
And in the early goings, both sides thrived with that mentality. Particularly the visiting Lady Wolverines, and especially sophomore guard Kimball Anderson. Shooting with confidence right from the outset, Anderson took advantage of Ignacio’s extra attention paid to senior Renae Foutz and drained two three-pointers, giving BHS a 6-5 lead. Wesner then answered with a late triple regaining IHS an 8-6 lead by the first quarter’s end.
It then grew to 14-8 with 5:00 left in the second, but Bayfield would re-tie the score at 14-all via an Anderson jumper with 1:47 to go. Lady ’Cat senior Victoria Brown, however, almost immediately regained the home team the upper hand, then added a pair of free throws with 1:15 left. Seven ticks later, Ignacio’s lead had increased to 20-14 thanks to Martinez converting a steal of BHS’ inbounds pass into another basket, and Brown would cap the first-half scoring with two FTs resulting from junior Alyssa Atencio prolonging a possession with a clutch offensive rebound.
Atencio then found her shot early in the third quarter, and in short order sank a deuce and a trey – inflating Ignacio’s pad to 27-14 with 5:57 left. And the Lady ’Cats found themselves breathing even easier during the next two minutes as Foutz, still scoreless, not only missed four consecutive FTs but then picked up her fourth personal foul with 3:59 to go.
BHS sophomore Vivien Clance managed to convert an Anderson steal into a layup only nine seconds later, but IHS (7-11 overall, 3-5 3A/4A Intermountain) countered with two-pointers by Brown and Wesner to take a 31-18 lead into the final frame … only to discover the Lady Wolverines hadn’t been sufficiently subdued. Mercifully, Foutz made one of two FTs with 7:07 remaining, and Anderson followed with a short jumper bringing the guests back to 31-21 with 6:48 left.
Highlighted by Wesner’s aforementioned straight-on three, Ignacio finally broke free via an 11-0 burst, and Anderson would sit out the penultimate 2:29 with a cramped left calf (junior Sylvia Hesford fouled out on the same play).
“Coach just said we need to come out with confidence,” said Anderson, who totaled a team-high 12 points. “Slowing it down in our minds really made the difference between a shot going in or not.”
Clance and freshman Grace Brown each totaled four points for Bayfield, Hesford and Foutz managed two apiece, and freshman Natalie Osendorf chipped in a fourth-quarter free throw. The charity stripe was anything but giving, however; the Lady Wolverines (5-14, 0-9 IML) made only three of 23 FTs, with Foutz finishing 2-of-12, Hesford 0-of-6 and Anderson 0-of-3.
Ignacio, meanwhile, finished 8-of-16. Despite going 2-of-6 from the foul line, Victoria Brown still ended up equaling Anderson’s 12 points. Wesner, Atencio and Martinez each finished with nine points and Avila seven. Senior Marissa Olguin went scoreless but grabbed no fewer than nine rebounds, nabbed six steals and also dished out six assists.
Looking ahead, the Lady ’Cats will continue league work hosting 4A Alamosa (15-5, 7-2 IML) on Friday, February 21, and 3A Monte Vista the following afternoon. Results from IHS’ trip on the 18th to 4A Montezuma-Cortez (5-15, 1-8) were unavailable at press time. Postponed by a weekend snowstorm, IHS’ 2/14 home game versus 3A Centauri (at the time 15-3, 7-1) has been rescheduled for Tuesday, February 25.
“We have to really push and focus on these next few games; in order to go to regionals, we have to be (ranked) 32 or higher,” Martinez stated. “For our seniors, we want to make this their best last season and have fun with it.”
“We’ll take it step by step, you know, and work on what we need to work on,” Nanaeto said. “Right now, it’s mostly just about communication, and covering in the paint.”