LOVELAND – The Mancos Bluejays and the Dove Creek Bulldogs weren’t ready to have their fantastic basketball campaigns end just yet on Friday.
Ensuring they could extend their time on the court together, the Mancos girls dug deep with a gritty defensive performance, winning their consolation bracket contest in the 2A state tournament over No. 4 Hoehne, 38-31.
In the 1A tournament consolation bracket, Dove Creek rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit to defeat No. 7 Eads 37-32 to advance to the fifth-place contest.
Barely 16 hours after Mancos (19-6) battled for four quarters against No. 1 Merino in a 61-29 quarterfinal loss, the Jays turned their focus on extending their season for another game and pursuing a fifth-place finish in the tournament.
Hoehne struggled to get anything going against Mancos’ defense. The Farmers scarcely saw a clean look at the rim in a scoreless first quarter, in which Mancos constructed a 5-0 lead.
Senior Quincy Montoya took her game to the Farmers, driving to the basket relentlessly in the first half and drawing opportunities to go the foul line. The senior scored nine of her game-high 14 points.
Mancos built a 17-8 lead in a low scoring third quarter. Senior Teya Yeomans hit some key free throws, and sophomore Claire Goodwin also made important charity tosses down the stretch.
“We came in with the mentality that we have nothing to lose, so we were able to play a bit looser. But we also knew we had to be really strong and aggressive,” Montoya said.
Hoehne made it a 33-31 game in the final two minutes behind buckets from senior Janae Ramos, but Mancos kept its composure to secure the win.
Montoya led the way for Mancos, but another full-team effort propelled them to victory, as Goodwin and Yeomans chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Senior Mandi Peacock added a field goal for her first state tournament points.
“We’re blessed to still be playing basketball, to be here, to experience this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so we’re making sure that we lay it all out there,” Montoya said.
Mancos will face sixth-seeded Denver Christian at 9 a.m. Saturday in the fifth-place game in Loveland. That contest that will be broadcast live on 98.7 FM KRTZ and krtzradio.com, beginning at 8:45 a.m.
In Greeley, the Bulldogs battled No. 7 Eads in their 1A state consolation semifinal matchup, overcoming a turnover-prone start to storm back to a 37-32 victory.
Dove Creek trailed 9-7 after one, and the mountain grew taller in the second quarter, as Eads led 19-11 at the break. However, coach Julie Kibel’s Bulldogs squad came out of the locker room fired up and erased the deficit in the third quarter.
Junior Ralynn Hickman continued her postseason tear, spearheading the comeback with a 15-point effort. Senior Halee Beanland contributed a pair of huge buckets in the run that tied up the game at 21 entering the fourth quarter.
Midway through the fourth, Dove Creek seized full control behind an old-fashioned three-point play from senior Kylie Gatlin, before sister Kalie drained a 3-pointer to build a 31-26 lead. Kylie Gatlin scored nine points, and sophomore Hadley Hatfield added five points.
The Bulldogs (21-3) will play fifth-seeded Idalia in the 1A state tournament’s consolation finals 11 a.m. Saturday at UNC Greeley. The game can also be heard on KRTZ.
