Its not quite Durango, but Alamosa will do.
The Dolores Lady Bears and Katlynn McGee put on a offensive clinic Friday in a 65-51 win over Ignacio at Montezuma-Cortez High School.
Dolores victory secured a spot in the 2A San Juan Basin League District III championship against top-seeded Ridgway. The No. 2-seed Lady Bears were looking to win their fourth-consecutive district title.
We were clicking on all cylinders, said Dolores coach John McHenry about beating Ignacio. Defense was good. Offense, we were just shooting lights out. We executed everything.
But in girls high school basketball, things can drastically change. Thats what happened to Dolores.
A day after a near perfect game, the Lady Bears couldnt hit the broadside of a barn against Ridgway on Saturday. The Lady Demons controlled the contest throughout, demoralizing Dolores, 50-17.
It was an opposite day, McHenry said regarding Ridgway. Were a better team than six points in the first half. I feel like we got shots up that were good, we ran our offense. On defense, we felt we could go after their guards. But we left ourselves exposed.
The Lady Bears second-place finish qualified them for regionals. Playing in Durango the last three seasons was nice, but Dolores (10-11) is content with the Region-I tournament at Alamosas, Adams State College.
After the game, the team and I came together and just figured it wasnt our plan to go to Durango like we have for so many years, McHenry said. Were just kind of taking it on the fact that we have a different plan ahead and it goes through Alamosa this year.
The two-seed SJBL Lady Bears will see a familiar foe in Santa Fe League, No. 3-seed, Swink. The Lady Lions upset Dolores in regional play at Durango High School last year.
They lost three seniors, but they still have a couple good posts. I havent got to do any scouting on them, yet, McHenry said. I know that Santa Fe League is just tough. We have our work cut out.
Against Ignacio (10-10), the Lady Bobcats hung with Dolores in the first quarter with aggressive defense. But the Lady Bears still led 15-10 after one quarter. After that? The perimeter shooting floodgates opened for Dolores. Especially, from 3-point ace McGee, who knocked down five treys in the game.
Ignacio had no answer, as its deficit grew to 31-18 at halftime.
The Lady Bobcats played level most of the second half, but they flat out could not stop Dolores. The Lady Bears led 45-31 after the third quarter on the way to posting a 14-point triumph.
McGee torched the nets for a game high 27 points, while Cydney McHenry scored 13 for Dolores, who shot 60 percent from the field.
Pamela Cotton paced the Lady Bobcats with 16 points. Michelle Simmons recorded a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds.
The Lady Bears won two of three meetings with Ignacio this year. The Lady Bears, though, could not break the Lady Demons spell. Ridgway (16-4) claimed all three meetings against Dolores this season, none bigger than Saturday.
We definitely couldnt make the shots we always made. They just werent falling, Cydney McHenry said. Things just werent in our favor. I dont know what it is. We must have just gotten kind of angry about it. We definitely need to come out with that intensity for the rest of our season.
The Lady Bears created good shots, but they didnt fall. Dolores defense was up to par, but the offense committed too many turnovers that led to easy Ridgway points. The frustration was mounting. John McHenry was called for a technical foul in the first quarter of the lopsided loss.
A Lady Bears 4-peat was quickly out of the question, as they trailed 12-3 after one quarter and 24-6 at halftime.
The hole only got bigger in the second half. Dolores didnt make proper adjustments. The deficit was 40-13 after three and it was a 33-point difference at the end in Ridgways favor.
Cydney McHenry scored seven points for the Lady Bears.
Were definitely going to have to learn from this going into next week, she said. Weve got to put our whole heart into it, or else, this season will have a rough end.
Dolores will face Swink (16-7) on Friday at 6 p.m. in Adams State College. If the Lady Bears win, they play the winner of Sargent (No. 3 Denver Post) and Limon. The season ends with a loss.
Reach Bobby Abplanalp at bobbya@cortezjournal.com.