Over the course of the 2018-2019 regular season, the Montezuma-Cortez High School girls basketball team transformed itself from a pushover to one of the up-and-coming programs in the Intermountain League.
The latest step in the team’s transformation took place on Feb. 9 when the Lady Panthers traveled to Monte Vista and defeated the Pirates, 60-40, in the final game of the regular season for both teams.
Leading the Lady Panthers offensively in the victory was sophomore Paige Yarbrough, who scored 8 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Junior Talynn Comisky also scored eight points for M-CHS and juniors Hayden Leggett and Dimery Plewe each scored seven for the Lady Panthers.
M-CHS led 16-9 at the end of the first quarter and 36-26 at halftime. The Lady Panthers outscored the Pirates 24-14 in the second half.
One day before its win over Monte Vista, M-CHS traveled to take on Centauri and suffered a 56-14 loss. Senior Presley Frost and Comisky each had four points for the Lady Panthers. Centauri began the game on a 17-0 and led 33-6 at halftime.
With its regular season now complete, M-CHS will enter the postseason with a 7-10 record overall and a 3-7 record in the Intermountain League. The Lady Panthers will host Bayfield at 6 p.m. on Feb. 19 in what will be a pigtail game for the district tournament.