The scoreboard flickered an ominous score line as the Mancos girls basketball team trudged to the locker room after a listless first half.
Ignacio scorched the Bluejays in every statistical category for the opening 16 minutes – their dominance from the field and from the line justifying their early advantage.
Bluejay faithful had seen this script before. During Ignacio’s string of dominance against Mancos – winners of 23 of their most recent 24 encounters – only four of those wins had come by fewer than 10 points.
But what happened in the next two quarters on Feb. 1 was perhaps unlike any meeting ever between the two San Juan Basin League foes.
Mancos outscored the Bobcats 37-15 in the second half, including scoring the final 12 points of the game, to cap one of the greatest comebacks in school history in a 50-46 victory over Ignacio.
Bluejay senior Rhiley Montoya took over in the fourth quarter, scoring seven of the final 14 Bluejays points, including the go-ahead basket with 1:40 remaining in the game.
Classmate Justina Bayles couldn’t be stopped in the second half, scoring 14 of her game-high 22 points after the intermission as the hosts clawed their way back into the game.
Yet, for a half, it looked like another dominant Bobcat performance. Senior Avaleena Nanaeto beat the Jays all over the court in the first half, attacking the basket seemingly at will and cashing in at the line while the Bluejays piled up fouls.
Four three-pointers in the second quarter alone helped the Bobcats (4-6, 1-2 2A/1A SJBL) amass 26 points in the frame, and overturn an 8-5 deficit after one quarter.
Mancos (6-5, 1-2 2A/1A SJBL) crawled back into contention with an 11-0 run to begin the second half, before Ignacio responded with a little run to rebuild a 12-point lead early in the fourth quarter. Junior Laci Brunson hit a three-pointer early in the fourth quarter, and it appeared as if head coach Tony Gomez’s team had steadied the ship enough to navigate out of Mancos with a win.
A combination of Mancos forcing a handful of Ignacio turnovers and a quickened tempo for Mancos head coach Kerri Morgan’s team, suddenly put the visitors on their heels. Senior Makayla Wayman picked a steal and a bucket to cut the score to 44-38 midway through the fourth.
Ignacio sophomore post Solymar Cosio drained a jumper from the free throw line to answer back, giving the Bobcats a 46-38 lead.
It would be their final points of the game.
Bayles finished around the rim to cut the game to a four-point deficit, before draining a three-pointer at the two-minute mark of the game to make it 46-45.
After a steal, Bluejays sophomore Quincy Montoya drove the baseline, before shoveling the ball to her sister across the lane for the basket, putting Mancos in front for the first time since early in the second quarter.
Another steal set up Mancos with an opportunity to burn clock, and the Jays took over a minute off the game before Wayman drew a foul, and calmly went to the line to drain a pair of free throws.
Montoya put the icing on the cake moments later with a game-sealing free throw, setting off celebration from the Mancos bench.
“We found our chemistry in the second half,” said Rhiley Montoya of her team’s dramatic turnaround, “we knew that in order to beat a team of their caliber, we had to come together.”
Along with their shock upset of Ignacio in early March of 2021, Mancos has now taken two of their past three meetings with the perennial league powerhouse.
After a first half in which the Bobcats made numerous trips to the charity stripe, Montoya credited her team’s change in focus. “We had to be more disciplined,” added Montoya. “We couldn’t afford to put them on the line.”
Ignacio was led by Nanaeto’s 16 points, but she was limited to a lone field goal in the second half. Brunson added 10 points, while junior Harmony Reynolds scored eight.
“We knew we were better than the team that played in the first half,” said Montoya of her team’s halftime adjustments, “and the positive energy really started to build as we started to get some baskets in the second half.”
“Our girls brought a lot of pressure in the second half,” said Kerri Morgan of her team’s resurgence, “and we really pushed the ball down the floor after rebounds and steals to help get some good looks at the basket.”
Bayles joined Rhiley Montoya in double figures, as all of Montoya’s dozen points came after the Bluejays emerged from the halftime break. Wayman tallied eight points, and Quincy Montoya added seven.
“This win helps remind our girls that we can play with anyone,” added Morgan of the confidence-boosting victory, “and that no matter the situation, we’re still in the game.”
Mancos will look to build on their momentum as they prep for a home game against Nucla on Thursday, Feb. 3, before trips to Sargent and Telluride on Friday and Saturday.
Ignacio returns home to face Telluride on Wednesday, Feb. 2, before a visit to Dolores on Friday.
