Both the Durango High School boys and girls basketball teams will compete in the CHSAA Class 4A state tournament this year.
The boys team (9-12) opened the Class 4A Southwestern League/Western Slope League tournament with a 44-33 win against Rifle to advance to the tournament semifinals. The top-four teams all earn a state tournament bid, so winning a first-round game clinches a team’s spot.
The girls team (15-6) advanced to the semifinals with a 46-38 win against Eagle Valley.
Both games were played at Palisade High School, and both teams will move to play at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction on Friday. The DHS boys are the defending tournament champion and are eager to repeat.
“We’re not settled or finished playing,” DHS boys head coach Alan Batiste said. “We know we have a task at hand, and that’s defending that crown.”
Batiste called Thursday’s victory a “blue-collar win.” Lucas Baken led the team with nine points, and all nine players to play scored in the game.
“We had balanced scoring, and it was a good team effort,” Batiste said.
The girls team used scoring runs to open both halves to gain separation. They went up 8-0 in a flash, and a 9-0 run to open the second half put them up 31-16 with 4 minutes to go in the third quarter.
Sophomroe guard Katrina Chandler led the team with 22 points, and senior guard Katie Wiegert added 12. DHS head coach Tim Fitzpatrick also was impressed by the play of Stephanie Bayse, who sparked the team with seven points.
“The girls are very excited to punch their ticket to state. Now we can play a little loose,” Fitzpatrick said.
The DHS girls will play Montrose at 6 p.m. in the second round of the tournament. DHS upset the top-10 Indians 41-36 at home last Saturday. The Indians defeated Summit 59-19 in their first-round game.
“We haven’t even talked about Montrose yet. Eagle Valley was a very good 15-5 team that made us earn everything to get that spot in state,” Fitzpatrick said.
The DHS boys will face Glenwood Springs at 7:30 p.m. in their semifinal. Glenwood Springs beat Summit 53-41 in the first round.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
