Pirate girls drop

one to Bayfield

BAYFIELD — The Monte Vista girls' basketball team dropped its second Intermountain League contest of the season Monday with a 72-29 thrashing at the hands of host Bayfield.

The game was a make-up game that was scheduled for Friday and postponed because of weather conditions.

Playing with primarily junior varsity players, the Pirates struggled to handle the Wolverines' pressure.

Brittany Harlan, Adrianna Mora and Ashley Pacheco each scored eight points to pace Monte Vista. The Pirates drop to 10-3 overall and 0-2 in the IML.



Bayfield boys

beat Pirates

BAYFIELD — The Bayfield High boys' basketball team scored a key win here last night, defeating visiting Monte Vista in a key Intermountain League contest.

The Pirates' Kristjian Malouff paced the Pirates with 23 points, while Matt Pacheco tossed in 12 and Ryan Milne chipped in 10. Monte Vista was 23-of-34 from the free throw line for the game and shot 41 percent from the field (20-of-48 ).

"If we can get them at home we will be alright," Monte Vista head coach Ty McConnell said. "We shot the ball fairly well, but it wasn't quite good enough. These kids are playing as hard as all get out. Their effort is very good."

Monte Vista travels to rival Centauri on Thursday for a tough Intermountain League showdown.



Sanford turns

back Del Norte

 DEL NORTE — Fueled by 15-5 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter, the visiting Sanford Indians turned back a plucky Del Norte squad, 49-42, in a key Southern Peaks League showdown in Rio Grande County on Saturday night.

The host Tigers got a 14-point scoring effort from the likes of Kyle Garcia and Kaleb Stephens, but the duo weren’t enough to offset a balance Indians scoring attack.

Sanford’s Brett Forster scored a game-high 22 points, while teammate Rhett Jackson added 10.

Del Norte held Tommy Caldon scoreless and was strapped with foul trouble early on.

The Tigers played well defensively, but were unable to capitalize on opportunities late in the contest.

Sanford also made the most of its chances when fouled late in the game, making 15-of-26 free throws for the game.

“I felt we did a good job defensively,” Del Norte head coach Clint Mondragon said.

“I was pleased with the defensive effort, it’s just that we missed a couple of box outs against Forster and he put those rebounds in. We had to start fouling late in the game and Sanford was solid from the free throw line.”

Sanford is 7-3 overall and 3-1 in SPL play, while Del Norte is 5-7 and 2-3, respectively.



Sanford girls

edge Del Norte

DELNORTE — TheSanford High girls’ basketball team rebounded from a tough Friday loss to La Veta by scoring a 48-40 Southern Peaks League victory over host Del Norte Saturday.

The Indians did so by playing team defense and making sure the Tigers weren’t allowed many second-chance points.

Del Norte forced The Indians after intermission, outscoring Sanford 15-4 in the third period to but the deficit to 30-26 heading into the final stanza.

The Indians were able to regain their composure and win the fourth quarter 18-14 , but not before the Tigers made them work for the win.

“We’ve had that issue a little bit,” Sanford coach Blake Canty said of the La Veta loss. “I think it was just staying mentally focused after halftime . We didn’t execute and take care of the ball. Del Norte changed a little on their offense at halftime, but we just didn’t take care of it on our end.

“We needed to get that one back around,” Canty said. “I think it was mental stuff in the second half, trying to stay up from a full game the night before. The mental thing let them back in the game.”

“I just think we were mentally ready. Our team has a tendency to get scared when we’re playing someone that is really tough. We’re working on that mental aspect.

“We went in at halftime and changed our offense. We changed back to a more familiar offense and that seemed to calm them down a bit. It might have been too much for us to overcome, I don’t know.”

Tori Mortensen paced the Indians with 15 points, while Amber Edgar and Morgan Neese chipped in eight and seven points, respectively.

Del Norte was led by Molly McPartland’s 15-point effort.

Eva Quintana added eight points and Amanda McConnell chipped in seven.

Sanford improved its record to 6-6 overall and 3-2 in SPL play.



Center holds

off Antonito

CENTER — The Center High School girls’ basketball team made the most of their home-court advantage, shooting the ball very well in its own gymnasium and concluding the night with an impressive, 63-42, victory over visiting Antonito on Friday.

The Vikings’ Brittany Myers poured in a game-high 18 points,while teammate Ashley Warsh added 11.

The Lady Trojans were paced by Jodi Mora’s 13 points and Sabrina Garcia’s 11. Jennifer Sanderson added nine points, while Amber Garcia had seven.

Antonito entered the second half trailing 25-23 , but Center was able to get a balanced scoring attack and win the rebounding battle, which limited the Trojans on second chance opportunities. Antonito will host Escalante, N.M. on Thursday.



La Veta turns

back Sanford

SANFORD — The La Veta High girls basketball team was fast and furious and turned back host Sanford, 49-36 . The Redskins led 27-24 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter, but were unable to get control on the scoreboard.

Tori Mortensen did her part to try and lead the Indians back, scoring 14 points and effecting five steals for the game, but it was not to be in this Southern Peaks League clash of titans.

In the end it was the defensive intensity by the Redskins and their ability to fend the Indians off whenever Sanford tried to make a run. Untimely turnovers didn't help the Indians cause, either.



Centauri girls

cage Tigers

DEL NORTE — Defense is the name of the game for the Centauri High girl's basketball program.





And, yes, the Falcons' defense does travel. It's not just effective in the friendly confines of the Centauri Middle School gymnasium. The end result Friday against the host Del Norte Tigers was a 65-34 nonconference decision.

Del Norte was able to handle the pressure initially, as the score was knotted at 15-15 at the end of the first stanza.

Centauri head coach Dave Forster, however, hasn't reached the 300-plus wins plateau by pure luck. His Falcons teams are well-known for their press and the veteran coach continually inserted fresh players to apply the type of full-court pressure that wears down opposing offenses.

   "The press worked well for us," Forster said. "Del Norte did a good job of handling our pressure in the first quarter. But I played a lot of people and that is what we are working on at this point of the season. We are going to try and get our starters a little more rested going into the fourth quarter. And all of the girls did a good job running the press."

   All the Falcons did was limit the Tigers to 19 point for the remaining three quarters after the first. In the process, Taylor Wilson dropped 12 points to lead all scorers, while Donna Mae Garcia added 10 points. Brandi Crowther and Joanna Williams added nine points each.

Centauri improved its record to 7-4 overall and has a tough week ahead. The Falcons go to Pagosa Springs on Tuesday and face Monte Vista on Thursday.

Pressure defense is what Centauri girls basketball is all about.



Sanford boys

beat La Veta

SANFORD — The Sanford High boys basketball team found a way to deal with the weather and its opponents on Friday night, turning back a feisty La Veta squad 57-46 in a key Southern Peaks League encounter. The Indians were led by Brett Forster and Tommy Caldon.

 Forster and Caldon each scored 15 points for the host Indians. Forster added eight rebounds, while Caldon was credited with five assists and three steals.

On the defensive side, Forster and Brett Jackson did their duty, limiting the Redskins' Dakota Mason and Tre Price inside, which was key to Sanford's success. Forster and Caldon drilled a multitude of three-point goals to quell any hope of a comeback by La Veta.



Cornum leads Falcons to win

DEL NORTE — Centauri High's Jared Cornum proved to be the difference maker for the Falcons on Friday night. The senior not only scored a game-high 21 points, but hit clutch free throws down the stretch to help the Falcons fend off the host Del Norte Tigers in a hard-fought nonconference hoops contest.

Cornum, who finished 10-for-15 from the free throw line, was hot from the perimeter early in the game and stepped up to the charity strip when it counted most.

"Jared Cornum was hot early from the field and he was 10-for-15 from the line when the game was on the line," Del Norte head coach Clint Mondragon said. "Late in the game he was able to dribble penetrate and we had to foul him.

"We just had too many turnovers. The game was 26-26 at half and we didn't take advantage of our opportunities . We had enough opportunities, just too many missed opportunities."

   Del Norte is now 5-6 overall , while Centauri improved to 4-6 .



Antonito runs

past Center

   CENTER — The Antonito High Trojans used their run-and-gun style to run by the host Center Vikings in a Southern Peaks League contest. Antonito enjoyed a comfortable 25-11 halftime advantage, but kicked into high gear in the second half.

The Trojans outscored the Vikings 33-19 in the second half to secure the victory.

Antonito head coach Jeremy Romero said, "We finally got a chance to rotate all 11 players in the game."

"We've been working on our man defense and it's getting better. We were able to go deeper into our bench tonight and that was the difference ."