For offensive-minded basketball fans, a Class 2A District 3 contest between the Dolores High School and Telluride High School basketball teams on Feb. 28 was not the place to be.
Fans intrigued by defense would have felt right at home, however, as the Miners defeated the Lady Bears 18-13 in what will go down as one of the area’s lowest-scoring postseason games of the last decade.
Dolores was led offensively by sophomore Allie Kibel and senior Brenn Jeter, who both scored five points. Sophomore Ashaunee Begay scored four points for the Lady Bears. Telluride was paced in scoring by junior Morgan Watkinson, who netted a game-high nine points.
Telluride led 9-7 at the end of the first quarter and 12-9 at halftime. First-half highlights for the Lady Bears included a first-quarter 3-pointer by Kibel from the left wing and a jump shot by Begay from just inside the 3-point line.
Trailing by three points at halftime and later down 14-9 late in the third quarter, the Lady Bears received a boost when Jeter drained a turnaround jump shot despite being fouled and cut her team’s deficit to three points.
An elbow jump shot by Kibel with seven minutes left in the third quarter cut Telluride’s lead to 14-13, but Dolores never got any closer, as its shots refused to find the bottom of the net and Telluride pulled away for a five-point victory.
Next up for the Lady Bears will be the third-place game of the Class 2A District 3 Tournament, which will take place against Mancos High School on Saturday.