Four points. That’s the amount the Durango High School girls and boys basketball teams combined to score in the fourth quarter in their losses against Montrose Friday night. The Demons girls team lost their fourth-quarter lead by scoring one point in the fourth in their 43-38 loss; the boys scored three points in the fourth and lost 46-38.
The loss for the Durango girls basketball team snapped a 12-game winning streak and dropped the Demons to 13-3 overall and 2-1 in the 6A/5A Southwestern League. All three of Durango’s losses have come by less than six points.
“We only scored one point in the fourth quarter, so we weren't able to get it done down the stretch,” Durango girls basketball head coach Lauren Moran said. “We've had some offensive struggles in the past and when that happens, we have to be able to rely on our defense. Our defense was good at times, but we had too many defensive breakdowns, and ultimately that allowed them to go on a run in the fourth quarter when it really counted.”
Senior guard Mariah Maestas led Durango with nine points; senior guard Lilly Fitzpatrick had eight points.
Junior guard Claire Goodwin was held to five points, all that came in the third quarter. Moran credited Montrose with doing a great job of scouting the Demons and limiting the looks that Durango wanted.
Montrose improved to 15-1 overall and 3-0 in the 6A/5A Southwestern League. Junior forward Mayce Oberg led the Red Hawks with 25 points.
“She is a really solid, all-around player,” Moran said about Oberg. “I’d like to credit their entire team and their coach; they did a great job of getting her open looks. She was shooting a lot of really high-percentage shots; she's a really solid player, so she's not going to miss those shots.”
Montrose started the game with an 11-4 lead after the first quarter and led 16-12 at halftime. Then the Demons exploded for 25 points in the third and led 37-29 after three quarters.
Moran attributed the third-quarter surge to the bench players in the second quarter. The Durango starters were in foul trouble and had to sit in the second, allowing some reserves to step up. Moran said that gave the starters confidence to come out and perform well in the third.
Durango struggled to get high-percentage shots in the fourth and the Demons started feeling the pressure of a tight game, according to Moran. Oberg continued to score and Montrose outscored Durango 14-1.
The Durango boys fell to 11-5 overall and 2-1 in the 6A/5A Southwestern League after the loss. Senior guard Noah Miles led Durango with five 3-pointers and 20 points.
“We settled for a lot of jump shots,” Durango boys basketball head coach Alan Batiste said. “They're always nice when they're going in, but we needed to attack the basket a little bit more this game and open up the drive. We started that a little bit too late, so we have to make some adjustments next time we play them.”
The Montrose boys improved to 14-2 overall and 3-0 in the 6A/5A Southwestern League after the win. The Red Hawks were led by senior forward Kaleb Ferguson’s 24 points. Batiste said Ferguson worked super hard for Montrose and finished in the paint and midrange with his size.
Durango led 11-10 after the first quarter, but Montrose bounced back in the second and led 25-23 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Demons played to their strengths, got out in transition and led 35-32 headed into the fourth.
Montrose liked to pack in its defense and almost dared the Demons to shoot from outside. The Demons settled for outside shots in the fourth quarter, according to Batiste, and Montrose outscored Durango 14-3 in the fourth.
The Durango boys and girls basketball teams return home to play Fruita Monument on Friday. The girls play at 5:30 p.m. and the boys play at 7 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
