The Lady Jays (9-9) and Lady Bears (11-7) will meet for the third time this season in the opening round with a 7 p.m. tipoff on Friday.
The Lady Bears thumped the Jays by 20 points in their first contest, but in their second and most recent matchup in Dolores, the visiting Jays gave the Lady Bears all they could handle, although Dolores escaped with a 46-40 win.
While bench depth will certainly come into play, the most important factor in the upcoming playoff game will be the tempo.
The two teams play contrasting styles: While the Lady Bears look to apply pressure and push the pace, the Jays would rather slow the game down and work through sets in the half-court.
Mancos will need to limit its turnovers and keep Dolores from getting easy transition buckets. If the Jays can slow the pace and turn the game into a rock fight – similar to their previous 46-40 game – they’ll have a chance to upset the Lady Bears.
The Lady Bears are at their best when they utilize their “thunder” and “lightning” full-court presses and turn the game into a track meet.
If they can pressure the Jays into sloppy passes and then get out and run, they’ll likely be on their way to a second-round date with either Ignacio or Ridgway.
Mancos boys vs. Telluride
They split the two regular season games they played this year, with each team winning at home.
After losing 56-49 in Telluride in January, the Blue Jays beat the Miners, 54-38, at home on Feb. 12.
The Jays will need to remain patient offensively and play sound defense in order to move past the Miners on Friday.
Mancos turned the ball over 23 times in their loss to Telluride earlier this season. But in the second contest, the Jays beat the Miners pressure, were patient offensively and turned the ball over just nine times in the win.
When they’re patient, moving the ball and all on the same page, the Blue Jays’ offense is pleasure to watch.
But they can occasionally seem rushed, and playing hurried leads to turnovers and points on the other end.
Defensively, it’s all about effort and focus.
The Jays have the tools to be a lockdown defensive team, and they showed it when they held Telluride to just 10 second-half points in their second meeting.
If they’re focused and take care of the little things – see man, see ball, block out, don’t reach – they should move on to a second-round game with either Ignacio or Ridgway.
Dove Creek girls face No. 1 seed
The Lady Bulldogs (1-18) open with the No. 1 seeded Plateau Valley Cowboys (8-9) in the opening round on Thursday.
While the Lady Bulldogs have won just one game all season, it came last week against Telluride, so perhaps they still have some momentum coming into the district tournament.
The Bulldogs (10-9) on the other hand, are entering the tournament with two straight wins, and they’ll face North Park (6-13) in their opener on Thursday.
A win there would put them into the semifinals against either De Beque or Ouray.
Dove Creek beat De Beque, 65-45 earlier this season, but the Bulldogs are 0-2 against Ouray, losing 76-60 in their first contest and 72-45 in their second.
However, the Bulldogs are in playoff mode, and if they can win two games at districts, they’ll move on to the regional tournament.