Kick it out to Katlynn McGee for 3, good.
Kick it out to Lexi Atkinson for 3, good.
It was a good night for the Dolores Lady Bears.
The hot shooting Lady Bears took care of business against the Montezuma-Cortez High School junior varsity on the road Wednesday night, 67-26, in the season opener for both teams.
(It was) just come in, get everything set up, get everything going right, make sure our press was running well, make sure our offenses and our defenses were going good. It was kind of work on the things we need to work on, Dolores assistant coach Rusti Harringfeld said.
McGee, Atkinson and Cydney McHenry scored all 31 first quarter points for Dolores, as it led 31-3 after one. McGee and Atkinson combined for seven 3-pointers in the opening frame.
We wanted to get all our plays down to where we know we can hit our 3s and all of our shots, said McGee, who led the Lady Bears in 3-pointers made last season. We have shooters and then we can also dump it into the post. Everyone can score pretty much.
Harringfeld put in her JV in the second quarter, subbing in the varsity starters in relief.
The Lady Bears out-scored M-CHS 19-12 in the second quarter to lead 50-15 at halftime. Freshman Naomi Pinnencoose led the Lady Panthers with eight points and two 3-pointers, one of which she knocked down from 25-feet at the halftime buzzer.
The Lady Bears varsity logged most of the minutes in the third quarter. Dolores went to its inside game, scoring easy layups, while racking up the assist total. The defense also forced turnovers and then scored on the fast break. Not much went wrong for Dolores Wednesday night. The Lady Bears led 65-19 going into the fourth quarter.
It was all JV in the final stanza, as the Lady Panthers won the quarter, 7-2.
We wanted to get some of the JV girls in, like we did, Harringfeld said. Get them some varsity time and get them on the floor.
McGee had a game high 22 points and knocked down five 3-pointers. Atkinson tallied 22 points with three treys. McHenry chipped in 14 points.
I practiced a lot this year, because I didnt play volleyball. All I did was work on basketball. I lifted and ran everyday after school, said McGee about her improvement this season.
Pinnencoose led the Lady Panthers with 11 points.
It was definitely a learning one (game) and it was a good experience for them, Lady Panthers JV coach Taletha Judy said. Obviously, it was a lot more challenging for them, but I think it was good for them to see what they need to work on for the tough games coming up.
Judy felt her team played better defensively in the second half, as Dolores was held to only 17 points.
Thats their strength. Its going to be their defense, she said. Theyre fast, theyre quick with their hands. Thats going to be their strong point.
Dolores plays today at the Adams State College Thunderbird Shootout in Alamosa. The Lady Bears knocked off Sargent 51-35 on Thursday in its first tourney game. Results from Fridays contest against Centauri werent available at press time.
The M-CHS JV plays today at 2 p.m. in the Bulldog Classic at Dove Creek High School. The Lady Panthers played host Dove Creek on Friday night. Results werent available at press time.
Reach Bobby Abplanalp at bobbya@cortezjournal.com.