The Montezuma-Cortez varsity girls basketball team found itself in a hole early on Friday.
Hosting Monte Vista (7-4, 2-1 Intermountain League), the Lady Panthers fell behind 14-0 before sophomore Aryelle Wright got them on the board with a free throw with 3:30 remaining in the first quarter.
Junior Hanna Carver later scored inside and senior Cortney Cashner knocked down freebies for M-CHS, but the visiting Pirates led 19-5 after one.
Cashner hit a 3-pointer and three more free throws in the second, and Leriah Cly added two from the stripe, but the Panthers entered the break down 36-13.
“We let that press get to us to where we were taking shots that weren’t good shots,” said M-CHS head coach John McHenry. “We knew this was coming at us, and they’re good, they executed really well. We just didn’t take care of some of our basics and it just gave them some easy looks and easy ways to attack us.”
After settling for outside shots early, the Lady Panthers slowly gained confidence against the Monte Vista pressure and began attacking, finding better looks and getting to the free-throw line.
Buckets by Wright and Myra Simmons and a triple by Payton Keith trimmed the Pirates’ lead to 17 in the third quarter, but Monte Vista pulled away to win 56-26, giving the Panthers their eighth consecutive loss.
Cashner and Wright led M-CHS (1-10, 0-3 IML) with eight points apiece, Keith finished with three, Simmons, Carver and Cly chipped in two each and freshman Presley Frost added one.
The Pirates were led by senior Danielle Chacon with 24, and senior Brianna Villagomez added 14.
The boys game started with a bang, as M-CHS opened the contest with a barrage of 3-pointers.
Junior Daniel Fernandez kicked things off with back-to-back triples, and the Panthers also got threes from Jasen Engel and Obed Simental to jump out to an early 16-4 advantage.
They led 16-11 after one, but went without a bucket for the first four minutes of the second quarter and grew lackadaisical on the defensive glass, allowing Monte Vista second chances to climb back in and even things up at 28 heading into halftime.
“They were 6 for 6 in the second quarter on offensive rebounds and putbacks,” said M-CHS head coach Mike Hall. “They got six offensive rebounds and all six were put back in. We can’t have that. That’s 12 easy points.”
The third quarter was a fast paced, high-scoring affair, with M-CHS senior Micah Hightower and Monte Vista sophomore David Mascarenas each showing out for 10 in the frame.
Mascarenas hit two treys in the quarter, and he finished with five 3-pointers in the contest and a game-high of 26 points.
But Hightower answered with buckets inside, flashing moves with both hands and then stretching out and showing range for a 3-pointer of his own. He kept the Panthers afloat in the third and finished with a team-high of 17.
“He saved us tonight,” Hall said. “His hustle, his effort, he was crashing the boards every time, he was our leading scorer. His play tonight was above everybody else on the floor. He just played at a different level.”
The two teams started the final quarter tied at 48, but freshman Teagan Whiteskunk gave the Panthers a boost off the bench.
Tasked with guarding Mascarenas, Whiteskunk held the Pirates’ leading scorer to a goose egg in the final frame. And then on the offensive end he chipped in a 3-pointer and two clutch free throws to help push M-CHS on to a 67-60 win.
“He played fantastic defense,” Hall said. “We knew we had five fouls with him, so we told him to get in his face and don’t let him touch it, and he did. And he comes in and knocks a three down off the bench – talk about a spark – and then knocks down two free throws.”
“You can’t expect a freshman to come in and do that,” Hall continued. “But he did it. There’s nothing better than that.”
Hightower led M-CHS with 17 points, Fernandez finished with 14 and Simental scored 13. Engel chipped in nine, Braden Keetch added six, Whiteskunk five, and Quanah Casey hit a three.
The Panthers are now 5-6 on the season and 2-1 in league play.
Their game against Pagosa Springs was moved from Saturday to Wednesday due to weather, so M-CHS’ next contest is at home on Tuesday against Durango, starting with the varsity girls at 5:30 p.m.
