PUEBLO – Chosen for, but unable to play in the Colorado Coaches of Girls’ Sports All-State Games’ basketball showcase back in March due to a bum ankle, Solymar Cosio took advantage this past week of her Colorado High School Coaches Association All-State selection.
Able to score three points Tuesday in a semifinal loss to the all-state games’ Black team, the graduated Ignacio center netted one bucket versus White in the next afternoon’s third-place contest. Coming with 4:58 remaining in the fourth 10 minute quarter, Cosio’s inside hoop increased Blue’s lead to 73-50, and after Fleming guard MadiKay Serrato upped it to 77-50 with 3:54 to go, an Elam-rules target score of 85 points – to be reached by either team, with the game clock turned off but the 30-second shot clock still in effect – was set.
And despite an all-out, 11-point final frame by Frederick guard Gabriella Jima, White was simply too far behind to complete an unlikely comeback. Blue’s Macy Scheer (Denver D’Evelyn) drained a long shot from inside the three-point line to cap a thorough 86-60 conquest inside CSU-Pueblo’s Massari Arena.
“We were playing very good post players so I had to definitely work like no other just to get available, and my teammates really pushed me to get it in the hole,” Cosio said of her final prep-level basket. “It was so fun.”
The advantage grew to 49-24 at halftime and stood 66-39 through three frames, thanks in part to two triples by guard Dezirae Gonzales (Walden North Park) and all-around dominant rebounding led by Omofoma, Penelope Urquhart (Littleton), Dayshanay Bruner (Colorado Springs Coronado) and Cosio.
“We just pushed each other every possession,” said Cosio, who snared five true rebounds and also an air-balled White shot attempt. “It was just an amazing experience; everybody just played their heart out with no fear.”
Cosio, who’s heading to Benedictine College, was thrilled to end her career at all-state and is excited for her next chapter.
ADDITIONALLY: In the CHSCA All-State Games’ first-place showdown, Pagosa Springs forward Annie O’Donnell and Montezuma-Cortez guard/forward Savannah Haselroth suited up for Black, which handled Red 63-40.
