Entering the Class 3A Intermountain League District Tournament as the No. 5 seed, the Montezuma-Cortez High School girls basketball team knew that a trip to Regionals was a long shot.
After upsetting Monte Vista in a pigtail game on Feb. 24 however, the Lady Panthers moved into the tournament semifinals brimming with confidence and hoping to score at least one more upset and move on.
Lady Panthers trounced by Pagosa Springs
Playing on the road against top-seeded Pagosa Springs on Feb. 26, M-CHS struggled from start to finish against the top-ranked team in Class 3A and lost 46-12.
“I know we wanted to go out and execute against them,” but they came at us with a full court press the whole time,” said M-CHS head coach John McHenry. “Pagosa is pushing for a state title, so they did what they had to do.”
Lady Panthers fall to third-seeded Alamosa
Competing against third-seeded Alamosa in Pagosa Springs on Feb. 28 with a trip to Regionals on the line, M-CHS stayed close from start to finish, but lost 39-26.
The Lady Panthers trailed 7-6 at the end of the first quarter, 14-10 at halftime and 26-20 at the end of the third quarter before narrowing the deficit to four points midway through the fourth quarter.
“It was a great game,” said McHenry. “We missed some three-pointers that rimmed in and out. They went into a stall in the fourth quarter, and we had to start going for things. They would either make a bucket or we would foul them and put them and put them on the line.”
Senior Nicole Demby and junior Kiselya Plewe led M-CHS in scoring with six points and junior Kelcie Ralstin chipped in four.
After winning just one game last season, M-CHS finished this year with a 9-13 record. As for his team’s future, John McHenry did not hesitate before saying it was bright.
“I have a great core of juniors and two sophomores that have spent a lot of time together,” said McHenry. “We’re going to continue to work hard over the summer and look to make it to Regionals next year.”