The Mancos Lady Blue Jays (4-5) again found themselves in a hole early on Thursday against Norwood (11-1).
Mavericks’ leading-scorer Macie Magallon scored 13 of her game-high 18 points in the first quarter to jump up on the Lady Blue Jays 22-5 after one.
Mancos had a good sequence to start the second quarter: Jessica Gutierrez opened the frame with a steal and crossed over a defender at midcourt before finishing with a left-handed layup. And then, on Norwood’s next possession, Brittney Peacock blocked Magallon’s shot attempt.
However, the Mavericks got back on track shortly after – and Gutierrez scored Mancos’ only eight points in the quarter from the free-throw line – as Norwood went to half up 44-13.
“Our first half was terrible,” said Mancos head coach Mallory Morgan. “We’re just not coming out of the locker room. I don’t know if it’s nerves, I don’t know what it is or what kind of change I can make.”
“Because our second half is fine,” she continued. “The last four minutes of the fourth quarter we decide, now we want to play defense, now we want to score. But it’s too late by then.”
As Morgan explained following the game, by getting down early, the Lady Jays were sledding uphill to start the second half. And against Norwood, they were unable to dig themselves out of a 30-point hole, starting the fourth trailing 52-20.
The fourth quarter was the highest-scoring frame for Mancos, but it was too late and the Mavericks walked away with a 61-30 win.
Gutierrez led the Lady Jays with 14 points, Peacock scored 11 and Nicole Hess added five.
“There’s no reason we should be getting beat by 30,” Morgan said. “That’s a good team, but they’re not 30 points better than us.”
The Lady Blue Jays took out their frustrations and bounced back from a five-game losing streak on Saturday by taking down the Ridgway Demons (2-8).
Gutierrez again led the Lady Jays in scoring with 20 points, Hess scored 11 and Ashley Cole added seven points in the Lady Jays’ 47-37 win.
“This is probably the biggest team win we’ve had,” Morgan said in a phone interview on Monday. “Everybody scored but one player. And I think we’re finally kind of figuring each other out and starting to come together.”
Next up for the Lady Jays is a rivalry game at home on Tuesday against the Dolores Lady Bears (7-5).
“It’s going to be a different atmosphere and different game,” said Morgan. “So we just have to be ready. Everybody is going to have to show up.”