Coal Ridge boys win Demon Invite in double OT thriller

By Mike Vidakovich The Glenwood Springs and Coal Ridge girls squared off on Saturday morning in the third-place game of the annual Demon Invitational Basketball Tournament at Chavez-Spencer Gymnasium.
With local bragging rights at stake, Glenwood senior guard Emily Worline took control on the offensive end for her team in the first half, and junior post Qwynn Massie did likewise with her scoring and rebounding in the second half of play as the Demons came away with a decisive 45-26 win.
“Not a lot of people were scoring for us, so I made sure I had a good shot selection to try and match the points they (Coal Ridge) were scoring,” said Worline.
Worline tossed in three 3-pointers from various spots in the first half. Combine that with the Demon defensive pressure put on out at the perimeter from seniors Ximena Gutierrez and Logan Nieslanik, and Glenwood held a narrow 22-20 edge at intermission.
The Titans of Coal Ridge, playing without 6’1″ sophomore post Taylor Wiescamp, stayed right with the Demons in the first 16 minutes, as guards Kashley Morgan, Alyssa Wenzel, and Lyanna Nevarez all scored to keep things tight at 10-8 in favor of Glenwood.
Wenzel hit a 3-pointer from the top of the circle to tie the game at 11-all early in the second period, but Worline immediately countered that with her own long toss into the netting to put the Demons back on top at 14-11. Titan sophomore Rae Nelson then scored two baskets before Glenwood’s Ashley Barragan notched a 3-ball to tie the back-and-forth game at 18.
It was then Worline to the Demon rescue again with another 3-pointer to give Glenwood its razor-thin halftime lead.
Undoubtedly, coming out of the locker room, the Titans had no idea that they would score just 6 more points the entire game. It was a lengthy dry spell that would leave Coal Ridge Head Coach Clyde Morgan shaking his head following the game.
“You just can’t score that low of a total against a good team like Glenwood who really pressures the ball,” said Morgan. “We only played one half of basketball today.”
Gutierrez lengthened Glenwood’s lead quickly in the third quarter with a short jumper, as everyone in the gym braced for a competitive second half. But it was time for Massie to take center stage as she scored on several shots near the basket, and limited the Titans offensive attempts with her timely rebounding.
“Our two schools are neighbors, so we were both hungry to try and win this game,” said Massie, who finished the morning contest with 16 points and 11 rebounds. “I just tried to focus on my rebounding to keep the team energized.”
Early in the fourth quarter, Glenwood’s lead rose to 41-24 as Coach Rhonda Moser then began to substitute liberally.
“We are still searching for consistent scoring from everyone,” said Moser, who will lead the Demons into the Longmont Tournament next Thursday. “We just need to be a little more patient on the offensive end. I feel on any given night we have several players who …read more

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