Eagle Valley girls basketball secures second-straight league title with victory over Battle Mountain
Juan Pena/Courtesy photo
Eagle Valley might have escaped Edwards with a win on Jan. 29, but no one left the first meeting with Battle Mountain completely satisfied.
“Although we came away with the win the first time, we were disappointed with our performance,” Devils head coach Vinny Cisneros said. “The circumstances surrounding this game were different.”
Not only was it senior night, but Eagle Valley could clinch their second-straight league title with a victory. Riding a four-game winning streak onto their home floor, the Devils used stingy defense early and accurate free throw shooting late to pull away from the Huskies in the second half for a 31-10 win.
“For me, my pride in these girls and this program is at an all time high,” said Cisneros, whose team finished with a 13-10 overall record and 5-1 mark in the 5A Western Slope. Summit (10-12 overall, 3-3 league play) and Glenwood Springs (12-11 overall, 3-3 league play) tied for second in the four-team conference. Last year, Eagle Valley also defeated Battle Mountain in its regular-season finale to capture its first league title in program history.
“Last year’s championship was special, because it was the first one ever. This year’s championship is sweeter, because it proves that last year was no fluke and we did it with essentially a whole new group of girls who had never played together before the start of the season,” the coach continued. “It just goes to show that if you get a group of talented, hard working girls who buy into a system and culture, you can accomplish great things.”
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In Thursday’s game, both teams came out of the gate slowly: the score was tied at 6-6 going into break.
“I thought we were executing well, getting the looks we wanted (and) taking good shots,” Cisneros said. “There was just a lid on the basket and it was tough to get things to drop.”
The coach said the directives coming out of the locker room were to execute on offense and “be stronger around the rim.” With about five minutes left, the Devils put forward a series of possessions that demonstrated they were listening. Hannah Miano — who poured in 23 points in a win over Grand Junction Central and 18 more on the road against Glenwood Springs earlier in the week — hit Esme Almanza off a pick-and-roll for the first bucket of the second half. Almanza got a steal on the next Huskies possession, then teammate Lily Brueck took a charge and later swiped the ball from Huskies guard Izzy Kovacik to instigate a fast-break layup. The momentum had swung.
Miano made a pair of free throws and drilled a jumper from the elbow to help the Devils close the quarter on a 9-1 run. Miano finished as the team’s leading scorer with 15 points and Eagle Valley went 10-for-14 from the charity strike.
“Improving in this area has been a major focus for us,” Cisneros said.
Izzy Kovacik led the Huskies with six points while her sister, Kate, dropped in three more. Battle Mountain finished the season with a 9-10 overall record and a 1-5 mark in the Western Slope.
The first round of the 5A postseason begins statewide on Feb. 24, but Cisneros said the Devils will play their first game the following day. A total of 40 teams qualify for the single elimination bracket, with league champions earning automatic berths. Eagle Valley will find out their opponent on Sunday.
“It’s been an amazing season,” said Cisneros, who admitted the squad started out slow, hitting winter break with a 4-5 record.
“The coaching staff preached patience; we needed time to develop on-court chemistry and get comfortable executing our offensive sets,” the coach added before pointing out that last year’s league champions had three years to develop and gel together. “It’s been really impressive to see what this year’s championship team has been able to accomplish in such a short amount of time.”
