Entering the Class 2A District 3 basketball tournament, the Mancos High School girls basketball team knew that qualifying for Regionals was a possibility.
After scoring an upset victory over Ridgway in the tournament semifinals and holding their own against Ignacio in the tournament finals, the Lady Jays might now be looking ahead to even bigger things.
Mancos upsets Ridgway
Opening Districts against Ridgway in Cortez on Feb. 27, Mancos played one of its best games of the season and upset the tournament's second-seeded team, 49-44.
The Lady Jays victory was somewhat stunning considering that they lost to Ridgway 71-38 on Feb. 7.
"I just told the girls that they beat us by 30 three weeks ago and there is no reason that we should be getting beat by that much," said Mancos head coach Mallory Morgan.
Senior shooting guard Taylor Goff scored 17 points to lead the Bluejays and junior point guard Jessica Gutierrez chipped in 14. Sophomore forward Nicole Hess scored 12.
"(Ridgway) underestimated us a little bit," Morgan said. "Coming out and keeping our intensity up the whole game was huge."
With its victory over Ridgway, Mancos guaranteed itself a spot in a Regional tournament.
Mancos falls to Ignacio
Hoping win the District championship in Cortez on Feb. 28, the Lady Jays played against top-seeded Ignacio and lost 66-40.
Throughout the early stages of the contest, it appeared as if Mancos might be able to stay close to their San Juan Basin League thanks to effective offensive play and stifling defense.
After Jessica Gutierrez knifed through the Ignacio defense and scored a right-handed layup, Mancos led 8-4 with just over three minutes left in the first quarter.
Ignacio regained its composure however, and pulled ahead 12-8 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Hess drilled consecutive three-pointers to help Mancos pull to within 24-16, but Ignacio's long range shooting eventually overwhelmed the Lady Jays.
Goff and Hess scored 12 points in the Lady Jays loss and Gutierrez chipped in nine.
With the loss, Mancos fell to 9-11 on the season.
The Lady Jays will open the Class 2A Region 3 tournament with a matchup against Soroco in Grand Junction on March 6. If Mancos wins, it will advance to play either Paonia or Ridgway with a berth in the state tournament on the line.
"I don't really know a lot about Soroco," said Morgan, when asked about her team's upcoming game. "It looks like it will be a pretty good matchup. They have a couple of tall girls who are scoring most of their points."
