Prep notebook: Huskies girls basketball avenges loss to Glenwood Springs by defeating Steamboat Springs 50-19
American Scholastic Climbing League Western Slope regional set for Saturday at Eagle Climbing and Fitness
Rex Keep/Courtesy photo
Battle Mountain’s girls basketball team was able to split a midweek doubleheader, rebounding from Tuesday’s 59-32 road loss to league-leading Glenwood Springs with a 50-19 win over Steamboat Springs on Wednesday in Edwards.
“We competed extremely well with them for the majority of the game,” coach Dan Caballero said after Tuesday’s matchup against the 12-5 Demons. “We just had some untimely turnovers and fouls.”
Caballero was pleased with how his guards controlled the ball and established a tempo they were comfortable with.
“I’m proud of the effort my girls showed tonight against another top-10 team. Rhonda Moser has an extremely well-run program and they have some talented girls,” Caballero said of Glenwood, which is tied with Eagle Valley at 2-0 in the four-team 5A Western Slope.
“We continue to get better every single day with a young core and we are maturing quickly.” He wasn’t lying about the maturation rate. Twenty-four hours later, his team came out with a defensive press that created havoc for Steamboat and elicited several easy transition opportunities for Battle Mountain.
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Rex Keep/Courtesy photo
“We were able to create some early layup chances for ourselves and then find our shooters on the outside as the game wore on,” Caballero said.
The Huskies led 21-13 at halftime, but outscored the visiting Sailors 17-1 in the fourth quarter en route to a dominant 50-19 win.
“Our biggest hurdle has been closing out games this year but in the last week our girls have worked extremely hard and we knew that the results of that hard work would follow,” the coach continued.
Three Huskies (4-10) scored in double figures, led by Cassidy Kurt with 12 points and five rebounds. Akeliah Hancock added 11 and Ashley Rodriguez dropped 10. Anna Glass was the queen of the glass, racking up 11 rebounds to go along with two steals and seven point and Alessandra Caballero led the team in assists with seven.
“Every single one of my girls played extremely hard tonight and I am so proud of the effort,” coach Caballero concluded. “We never quit and this is that paying off.”
The boys fell to Steamboat 56-30 in Wednesday night’s late contest. The Sailors had 22 points from sophomore Jeff Sturges and 19 more from senior Cade Gedeon to improve to 12-5 as the Huskies dropped to 3-12.
Rex Keep/Courtesy photo
Both Battle Mountain squads travel to Montrose on Saturday before hosting Eagle Valley next Monday at 5:30 and 7 p.m.
Climbing notes
The American Scholastic Climbing League Western Slope Regional final will take place on Saturday at Eagle Climbing and Fitness. Wave 1, beginning at 9 a.m. and concluding at noon, will feature teams from Battle Mountain, Eagle Valley, Vail Christian and Vail Mountain School.
“This region is the largest in the state and includes some of the strongest athletes in the entire league,” said Larry Moore, owner of Eagle Climbing and Fitness.
“It also serves as the regional championship event for middle school athletes, their final event of the season.”
Moore expects roughly 200 athletes at Saturday’s competition and believes several local athletes have a shot at top placements. He pointed to high schoolers Elliot Gray-Lopresti, Reese Manley, Iris Sheldon and MaryBeth Friery as having podium potential.
To earn a trip to the state championship in Broomfield on Feb. 25, an athlete’s State Qualification Composite Score must put them in the top 10 of the region rankings. The best three in-region competition scores from the regular season meets, by percent, are averaged and count as 60% of the State Qualification Composite Score, with the remaining 40% coming from the regional. Twenty-four at-large bids from across the state’s four regions are also allocated for state.
