The Mancos girls basketball team kicked off the season in thrilling fashion on Thursday, with a 51-49 overtime win over Newcomb.
The Blue Jays were outscored 15-6 in the first quarter, and went into halftime trailing by five.
“Our first half wasn’t as good as our second half,” said head coach Mallory Morgan. “We came out a little slow.”
However, the Blue Jays fought back in the second half to tie the game at 42 as the fourth quarter expired to send it into overtime.
“We just kind of buckled down,” Morgan said of her team’s late game performance.
She noted the play of freshman Emily Cole, who stepped in and played the entire overtime period for junior Nicole Hess, who fouled out late in the fourth quarter.
Hess finished with seven points, and Cole scored five.
Morgan also highlighted the play of senior point guard Jessica Gutierrez.
“She was a senior leader last night,” Morgan said. “And without her, we wouldn’t have won that game.”
Gutierrez finished with a team-high 22 points, and junior Brittney Peacock was second in scoring with 15 points.
“She played really well,” Morgan said of Peacock.
The overtime victory starts the Blue Jays off with a 1-0 record, with their next contest against the Durango JV team on Tuesday, Dec. 8 in Durango at 5 p.m.