Tim Fitzpatrick attributed the slow start for the Durango High School girls basketball team to rust coming off of the holiday break. Once his Demons got rolling in the third quarter, the game was over.
DHS, the defending champion of the Aztec Rumble in the Jungle tournament, got its championship defense off to a strong start Thursday in the opening round of the 2020 edition of the eight-team tournament. The Demons trailed New Mexico’s Laguna-Acoma High School 7-6 after one quarter but would take a 16-12 lead into halftime. It was a big third quarter run that helped send DHS (5-5) to a 44-25 win against the Hawks (6-3).
“Starting the game off, Christmas break, the way Colorado runs it, we don’t get a lot of practice time. We were out of sorts,” Fitzpatrick said. “It took us a while to get our timing back.”
Durango won despite going only 6-of-16 from the foul line, while Laguna-Acoma was just 6-of-22 on foul shots. It was four consecutive 3-point baskets made by Brenna Wolf, Kyle Rowland and Jael Larson that would help the Demons build a 33-19 lead after three quarters.
“We’ve been struggling from the outside. It’s good for the kids’ confidence to keep shooting and see a couple go through,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s something going forward – we have to continue to knock down 3-pointers.”
Mason Rowland led Durango with nine points. Kyle Rowland added eight, all in the third quarter, while Sydney Flores also had eight points. Wolf, who got the game going with a slick reverse layup, finished with six for the Demons.
Flores and Maddy McManus played great defense inside the 3-point line for DHS against a Hawks team that had three girls taller than 6-foot. Laguna-Acoma would not score a point inside the 3-point arc the entire second half.
“They played really well defensively in the paint,” Fitzpatrick said. “We had tough defense, and I think we rebounded the ball pretty well tonight. Our defensive intensity really picked up at the end of the second.”
It was a tough game for the Hawks, which lost two key players to injury, including leading scorer Alenna Scott, who went down with what looked to be a knee injury in the final minute. She finished with seven points.
DHS had hoped to see league rival Montrose in the semifinals, but a late change to the bracket put the Indians on the opposite side. So, the Demons will hope to get past Rock Point out of Arizona in the second round at 3 p.m. Friday inside Aztec High School’s Lillywhite Gymnasium, while Montrose (9-1) will play host Aztec at 6 p.m. in the other semifinal.
“We want to play them,” Fitzpatrick said of Montrose. “I don’t know much about the Rock Point team. I’m more concerned about us trying to improve at this point of the season. Then, we’ll see what happens.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
