The Montezuma-Cortez High School Lady Panthers basketball team received a much needed wakeup call Friday afternoon.
After not playing a game for nearly a month because of the Christmas holiday break, M-CHS still had plenty of rust against a fresher, more upstart Delta Lady Panthers team.
Delta crushed M-CHS, 63-30, to open the 2012 Four Corners Classic.
However, the Lady Panthers rebounded to win two games and take third-place in their second annual tournament. M-CHS handled Shiprock (N.M.) Northwest Friday night, 67-44. The Lady Panthers used a strong third quarter to pull away and beat the Shiprock junior varsity Saturday afternoon, 48-40.
Im so glad we were able to play in this tournament and get two wins under our belt, M-CHS coach Justine Bayles said. It helps the girls have a little momentum going into league (play).
Against Delta (9-2) Friday, M-CHS (5-7) started slow, while the visiting Lady Panthers cruised to a 20-9 lead after one quarter.
M-CHS got within 22-14 early in the second after a trey from Randy Elliot. But Delta put the hammer down after that with a 17-0 run to take a 25-point lead.
Two Shervanna Benally baskets for M-CHS stopped the bleeding, but Delta remained up 25 at halftime, leading 43-18.
The home team simply couldnt break Deltas press defense. M-CHS only scored 12 second half points. Delta won the battle of the Lady Panthers, respectively.
In the days nightcap, M-CHS looked plenty reenergized against Northwest.
The Lady Panthers started fast behind a balanced scoring attack and didnt look back.
M-CHS trapped on defense to force turnovers that led to transition buckets. The Lady Panthers led by double digits most of the way and built their biggest margin at 24 points, before winning 67-44.
M-CHS swept the season series with Northwest, also winning 60-43 in December. Coach Bayles feels the familiarity factor played a huge role for her team.
I think the girls were a little more prepared mentally, and weve seen Northwest before, so we had the advantage there, Bayles said. We kind of knew what to expect. I think playing against Delta, we didnt have the energy level to really keep up with them.
Sydney Bayles, Tori Laymon and Naomi Pinnecoose each led the Lady Panthers with 10 points apiece. Baylee Lindsley had nine and Elliot poured in eight points.
The win qualified M-CHS for the third-place game on Saturday afternoon against the Shiprock High School JV.
A highly contested first half ensued between two teams vying for hardware.
The Lady Panthers led 10-8 after one quarter and led 12-9 early in the second. Shiprock would score the next seven points to take its biggest lead at 16-12.
Justine Bayles called timeout. Her squad then responded with a 7-2 run capped by a Sydney Bayles 3-pointer on the right wing, which regained the lead for M-CHS at 19-18. Each team would go into the locker room at halftime tied at 21.
Both teams traded baskets to open the third. Then, the Lady Panthers would take off.
Lindsley scored six straight points off a 3-pointer and an old fashioned three-point play. The senior then found a wide open Sydney Bayles for 3.
The Lady Panthers continued their run, as it blossomed to 16 unanswered points. With M-CHS up 37-23, the Lady Chieftains finally stopped the Lady Panthers onslaught with one from downtown to make it 37-26. Thats how the score stood at the end of three.
The big third quarter served M-CHS well, as the Lady Chieftains out-scored the Lady Panthers in the final stanza. But it wasnt enough to overcome. M-CHS went on to record the 8-point win.
We started off kind of slow, but I think once a few of us captains started going, it picked everyone else up, said Lindsley about the 16-0 third quarter M-CHS run.
Sydney Bayles had a game high 20 points and Lindsley recorded a season high of 15.
Ive been kind of slacking on the offensive end. I think I just need to work on my shot, Lindsley said. Once I started shooting it, it started to fall for me.
The Lady Panthers will begin 5A/4A Southwestern League play on Friday and Saturday at Grand Junction Central and Montrose at 5:30 p.m. and noon.
NOTES: Delta defeated Bayfield on Saturday, 61-43, to win the Four Corners Classic title.
Reach Bobby Abplanalp at bobbya@cortezjournal.com.
