Lady Cats 6th at Kirtland tourney
“I know that I was doing really bad because I didn’t even eat lunch! And I’m pretty sure a lot of other girls didn’t eat; we were running on a Snickers bar. Our energy level was very, very low.”
So Ellie Seibel and her fellow Lady Bobcats went into the game on nearly-empty stomachs on Saturday, Jan. 11, playing Farmington, N.M., for fifth place at the Webb Toyota/Kirtland (N.M.) Central Lady Bronco Invitational.
And after holding a two-point lead after one quarter against the Lady Scorpions, FHS went on an 8-0 run beginning the second and managed to stay ahead until the game’s end when sophomore forward/center Shayna Carlowe emphatically spiked away IHS senior Roshae Weaver’s last-ditch attempt.
“Our girls, you know, were really fighting through an emotional win they had yesterday. So to kind of get through that, play with that same enthusiasm … it just didn’t quite happen,” said head coach Shane Seibel after the 41-30 loss on Day 3. “They were trying, but I noticed the … intensity just wasn’t what it was against Bloomfield.”
After a 59-31 loss to 4A Belen, N.M., on day one, in which the Lady Eagles offset Lady Cat senior Gabriela Garcia’s seven-point first quarter with nine points each in the frame from junior guard Mariah Forde and senior post Kristian Sainz – leading to a 21-13 lead after one, and a 38-21 lead at halftime – Ignacio bounced back against the 3A-level Lady Bobcats on day two.
Getting 15 points from Ellie Seibel and 13 from senior Cloe Seibel, IHS led 44-17 through three quarters and coasted down the stretch to win 46-27, knowing FHS would be their next opponent after the Lady Scorpions’ preceding 46-36 defeat of 5A Fruita Monument.
“Our mission was to play our best defense; we knew our defense would win the game, and my dad came up with a saying: If … Bobcats were lions, a lion protects its ‘pride,’” said Ellie Seibel, a sophomore. “We did that in the game and it seemed to work really well.”
And it appeared to be working well again on day three. Despite losing their 12-10 lead gained in the opening eight minutes, the Lady Cats clawed back to trail 4A Farmington by margins of just 23-19 at halftime and 29-24 after the third quarter before FHS went on a 7-0 run starting the fourth.
Ellie Seibel totaled a team-high 10 points, hitting all four at the foul line. Cloe Seibel was held to four, but did collect a media-counted nine rebounds and five assists.
Garcia totaled seven points, Chrystianne Valdez had six, and sophomore Lilliana Romero three – all from the charity stripe, but with one providing a spark at the end of the second quarter and the other two bringing IHS back to as close as 27-24 with 1:16 left in the third.
“Even though we’re taking our lumps, we were able to come away with a win yesterday and we fought in the consolation championship. I thought we did real well,” Shane Seibel said. “As far as our team effort, I thought we did real well.”
Sophomore post Brighton Clah led the Lady Scorpions (9-8, 0-0 District 1-4A) with nine points, and Carlowe (just one of five from the line) had seven, as did sophomore guard Tanisha Beetso.
“I’m actually kind of happy with what we did this tournament,” Ellie Seibel said, “because in previous tournaments we didn’t do too good. So I’m happy with this.”
San Juan Basin League play got underway for the Lady Cats (2-7) on Jan. 18 when Dove Creek visited, but results were unavailable by deadline. The Lady Bulldogs were 7-1 overall entering a home game the night before against struggling Telluride.
Ignacio’s rematch with 3A Pagosa Springs was then scheduled for Jan. 21 at PSHS, with SJBL work resuming on Jan. 25 at Ridgway, then back inside IHS Gymnasium on Jan. 30 against Dolores.
ADDITIONAL INVITE RESULTS: Championship – 3A Shiprock, N.M. (16-0), defeated 4A Kirtland, N.M., Central (6-10) 70 to 28; 3rd-Place Game – Belen, N.M. (8-3), defeated 4A Grants, N.M. (7-6), 49 to 47; 7th-Place Game – Fruita Monument (4-9) defeated Bloomfield, N.M. (3-10), 55 to 31.