Thirteen minutes and 43 seconds elapsed off the game clock before the Bayfield High School girls basketball team scored against Alamosa on Saturday in Bayfield.
BHS head coach Bri Simbeck pulled her entire starting lineup off the floor for not running the team’s offense between the first and second quarters.
“I thought I’d give those youngsters a chance to show me that they knew the offense and also show the starters that they needed to step it up,” Simbeck said.
They returned with 5 minutes, 47 seconds left in the second quarter, and senior forward Jessie Roukema put the Wolverines on the board with a layup 30 seconds later to make the score 19-2.
The Mean Moose did not relent on defense or offense for the rest of their 45-26 win.
Alamosa (5-11, 4-3 Intermountain League) held BHS (0-14, 0-6 IML) to 26 percent shooting while hitting 35 percent of its own attempts.
Most of that struggle came in finishing for the Wolverines. They often were in good positions but could not make the good shots they created.
“That’s been our Achilles heel all season is making the ball go through the net,” Simbeck said. “Sometimes we get really good shots. We just didn’t put them in. That’s just being young or unfocused or not getting the reps we need either inside practice or outside of practice.”
BHS made only two field goals in the first half but found the bottom of the net six times after halftime.
Senior Jessie Roukema did most of that damage. She scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds, with eight points and six rebounds coming in the third quarter or later.
“I saw the old Jessie Roukema, the girl who was relentless going to the basket and can actually score when she gets to the basket,” Simbeck said.
Roukema said she wasn’t trying to be a ball hog but knew she needed to make an impact on the game.
“I was only helping my team in some ways, and doing other things seemed like the way to go,” said Roukema, daughter of Jerrin and Shane Roukema.
She also got one more chance to play volleyball on the last possession of the game. Roukema blocked a shot as the clock expired that ignited the Wolverines crowd, more so than at any previous point.
“I don’t know what went through my mind. I was trying to make sure don’t foul and she didn’t make the layup,” Roukema said.
It provided a nice exclamation point to a difficult sentence for the Wolverines. They turned the ball over 22 times and only made 10-of-26 free throws.
That all goes out the window for Bayfield’s next game, though. The Wolverines face Ignacio at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at BHS.
“It’s always a fun game when we get to play Ignacio. There’s been a little rivalry these last couple years,” Simbeck said. “It’s certainly important to me and Aspen (Pinnecoose) on our team. We’re really looking to go out there and fight and give it our best game.”
Pinnecoose is from Ignacio, and Simbeck coached at IHS before becoming the Wolverines’ head coach.
“They’re tough, but we’re also tough,” Roukema said.
kgrabowskI@durangoherald.com
