Kyle Mills / Post Independent
A slow first half doomed the Grand Valley Cardinals as they hosted they Cedaredge Bruins Saturday afternoon in Parachute.
Riding a four game winning streak and coming of a lopsided victory over Gunnison Friday night the Cardinals looked to make a move in the 3A Western Slope League against the Bruins who are currently in second place behind Delta.
The Cardinals drew first blood after a bucket from senior Loghan Teter.
It was all Cedaredge the rest of the first quarter as the Bruins went on 9-0 run and finished the low scoring quarter 9-3.
“We knew Cedaredge was a really great team, their good in man and zone, we kind of expected a little more man to man and they played a zone and trapped us. We struggled to move the ball,” Grand Valley coach Isaac Pittman said.
“We just got a little bit out of heads a bit.”
Cedaredge’s defense created turnovers and steals pulling out to a 15-5 lead halfway through the second quarter.
The Cardinals were unable to get very many shot attempts in the second as the Bruins took a 31-13 lead into the half.
“I think shooting wise we were fine, but we didn’t take very many shots. Its hard to score when your not shooting,” Pittman said.
The Cardinals once again started the scoring in the second half with the first five points on the board from Abbey Parker and Loghan Teter.
Cedaredge responded with a 10-point run to extend the lead 41-15 lead late in the third quarter.
Teter ignited the Cards with breaks a three-point play to pull within 20 points of the Bruins.
The Cardinals tried to rally, but were only able to get back within 14 points of the Bruins with under a minute to go.
Pittman said coming off of a travel game to Gunnison didn’t affect the team; he said they just struggled to pass the ball Saturday afternoon as they fell to the Bruins 51-36.
“I was really proud of them for not giving up, they kept fighting. We knew it would be tough be down 20 at halftime and try to come back,” Pittman said.
Grand Valley (13-5, 5-3 WSL) will host Roaring Fork this Thursday to close out the regular season.