When do some wins turn into a streak? Three seems like the obvious number, and if it’s true, the GHS women’s varsity basketball team officially put one together after two home wins this past weekend.
The Cowboys have won four of their last five games. Head coach Chad Terry said his team is peaking at just the right time as the regular season winds down.
Both of last week’s games took place on Cowboy’s home field. On Friday, February 10, the Cowboys defeated Meeker on senior night, by a final score of 46-32. On Saturday, Gunnison outscored Roaring Fork 54-37. The games gave Gunnison’s women’s varsity team its first verified winning record in years at 10-8. The league record is 7-6.
A senior night ceremony preceded Friday’s game against Meeker. The weekend marked the last home games of the regular season for the team’s senior four: Adamary Vitinio, Lorena Diaz, Cooper Keating, and Elaina Dillard.
The following competition had a clean lineup. Gunnison led every quarter except the fourth. Kylee McDougal led the way during the first, hitting two field goals, three free throws and a 3-pointer. In the second Lily Wild contributed two 3-pointers, making the score 23-12 at the half.
In the third, Meredith Diamond and Sienna Gomez got into action, each making two field goals. Wild hit another three-pointer in the fourth, while Ava Stewart hit twice. Meeker outscored Gunnison during the quarter, 14-11. But the lead Gunnison had built proved insurmountable and the Cowboys walked away with another win, 46-32.
Gunnison looked even stronger the next day, Saturday, February 11, against the Roaring Fork Rams. The Cowboys outscored the Rams 15-5 in the first period. McDougal, still on fire from the previous night, put up nine runs for the fourth, while Stewart contributed five.
For the rest of the match Sienna Gomez scored point for point. She added seven points in the second quarter and eight in the third.
The score settled at 33-25 in the final quarter of the game. The Cowboys continued to dominate. Sienna added seven more points, while McDougal put up four. The final score was 54-37. Gomez was the leading scorer with 21 points for the game.
Coach Chad Terry said the past three games indicate the team is starting to peak at just the right time. The team is not only finding the net more consistently, but has solidified itself when it comes to defense, he said.
“We’re playing really well defensively, sometimes in the zone, sometimes man-to-man,” he said. “We also have three great outside shooters, Lily, Kylie and Ava. And that helps why [the opposing team] he has to come out further, which frees Sienna on the backline.
Terry also said that the team has improved in terms of play behavior.
“One thing that has probably changed some of our success is that we are much more composed on the pitch,” he said. “We are not shaken and we are scoring points, even when [the other team] go to run”.
Looking ahead, the Cowboys’ recent success means they are close to finishing in the top four in the Western Slope League. The team will face Olathe away this Friday 17 February. If the Cowboys win, Gunnison will host the first round of the district tournament, the schedule for which is yet to be determined.
(Jacob Spetzler can be reached at 970.641.1414 or [email protected])
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