John Stroud/Post Independent
Trailing 41-36 at the end of the third quarter, the Alamosa Mean Moose went on a 14-0 run to start the final period of play and pulled away from the Glenwood Springs girls, en route to a 57-43 win in semifinal action on Friday night at the Demon Invitational Basketball Tournament at Glenwood High School.
Junior post player Graci Dietrich led the charge for the Demons in the game’s early stages. Dietrich accounted for Glenwood’s first 8 points as the lead see-sawed back and forth between the two talented teams.
Alamosa senior guard Emily Lavier hit one of her four 3-pointers on the night and Alamosa, using an aggressive full-court press, took advantage of several Demon turnovers to take an 18-13 lead after the first period.
Glenwood got a second quarter boost from freshman Joslyn Spires who hit a couple of high-arching 3-pointers in the period, pulling the Demons within 29-26 at intermission.
It was late in the third quarter that the Demons stopped playing catch up, and appeared to seize control of the momentum.
Senior post Michelle Marshall got some nice perimeter feeds from Demon guards and scored three critical baskets during the stretch late in the third period that saw Glenwood finally inch ahead 37-36.
When sophomore guard Ella Johnson fed senior post Kate Shanahan under the basket for a bucket just prior to the third quarter buzzer, the Demons looked like good bets to be headed for Saturday’s championship round.
The Mean Moose had other ideas, though, as Glenwood continued to turn the ball over on numerous possessions against full-court pressure that resulted in the big Alamosa scoring binge that was ultimately the difference in the game.
“We only scored two points in that fourth quarter,” said Glenwood head coach Rhonda Moser. “Tonight we got a little flustered with their press and didn’t play with the confidence we usually have.”
With a 50-41 lead in the game’s waning moments, Alamosa spread the court and the Demons were forced to try to chase them down and foul.
Lavier led Alamosa in scoring with 21 points, including four 3-pointers. Lilly Lavier chipped in with 14 points for the Moose.
Spires topped the scoring ledger for Glenwood with 11 points, with three 3-pointers to her credit. Marshall had nine points and seven rebounds for Glenwood. Dietrich helped the cause with eight points and six rebounds. Senior Natalya Taylor had four assists for the Demons.
Glenwood will square off with Coal Ridge at 10 a.m. on Saturday in the third place game of the Demon Invite.
Montrose 43, Coal Ridge girls 17
The Coal Ridge girls had a tough time against a talented and senior-laden Montrose squad on Friday at the Demon Invitational.
“We’re kind of a young team and we struggled a little bit,” Titan coach Clyde Morgan said. “Montrose is pretty tough. They applied some pressure and we didn’t respond very well. It’s a game you learn from and try to make improvements going forward.”
Junior post Taylor Wiescamp led Coal Ridge with eight points and Lyanna Nevarez contributed four points for the Titans.
The Titans face off with the Glenwood Lady Demons at 10 a.m. Saturday at GSHS.
Boys: Montrose 54, Coal Ridge 44
In a game that was closely contested throughout, the Montrose Indians managed to get some key baskets midway into the fourth quarter of play to pull away from the Coal Ridge Titans and win the semifinal contest in the Demon Invitational on Friday night by a score of 54-44.
“We didn’t execute the little things that we talked about in the pregame,” veteran Coal Ridge coach Paul Harvey said. “Montrose played well tonight, but we didn’t help ourselves.”
After trailing for most of the first half, the Titans took a 40-35 lead at the midway point of the third quarter following a 3-pointer from the left side by senior Austin Gerber.
Montrose struck back in quick fashion behind inside baskets from Luke Huddle and a driving layup by Shawn Alex to retake the lead. Junior Hank DiMarco hit a reverse layup to answer the Indian run and keep the Titans close entering the final period of play.
A key stretch of scoring for Montrose as the game began to wind down was capped by a steal and a driving layup by Alex to give the Indians a 50-42 lead with 3:18 left on the game clock.
From that point on, Montrose spread the court and the Titans were unable to capitalize on several outside shots to get within striking range.
The Titans play for third place against Alamosa at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Glenwood High School in the final day of the Demon Invitational.
