Slowly but surely, the Montezuma-Cortez High School girls basketball team has continued to improve.
Opening last weekend at home against Grand Junction Central on Jan. 23, the Panthers stayed competitive for four quarters, but lost, 43-34. M-CHS trailed 11-7 at the end of the first quarter and 26-15 at halftime.
“We limited our turnovers to under 15 and we were able to handle their press,” said M-CHS head coach John McHenry. “We had consistent scoring throughout the game.”
Kiselya Plewe led the Panthers with 10 points, Yanibah Bayles scored six and Nicole Demby and Abby Chupp each scored four.
Playing against Bayfield on Jan. 24, M-CHS pulled ahead early and cruised to a 56-44 win on the road. With the win, the Panthers improved to 5-7 on the year.
Plewe led the Panthers in scoring with 14 points and Chupp and Naomi Pinnecoose each scored nine.
M-CHS head coach John McHenry said that the Panthers performance in Bayfield was one of the team’s finest of the year.
“We executed really well,” said McHenry. “We worked our press really well and we worked our offense really well. We played an almost complete game.”
Next up for the Panthers will be a road matchup against Durango on Jan. 27. Although M-CHS and Durango are no longer in the same league, McHenry expects the longtime rivalry matchup to be intense.
“We know that they’re going to be fast and aggressive,” said McHenry. They’re going to challenge our guards and our ball handlers. If we can handle the pressure, we should be alright.”