Sweet shooting in the opening minutes was all the Rocky Ford Meloneers needed to get a revenge win against the Ignacio High School girls basketball team Thursday night.
A year after the two teams met in Ignacio in a regional championship with a spot in the Great 8 of the CHSAA Class 2A state tournament on the line, the same teams met again in a similar spot Thursday in the Sweet 16 of the Class 2A tournament.
The home team once again prevailed. This time that was Rocky Ford (12-2), which opened the game on a 13-0 run with three 3-pointers before going on to win 49-40.
“One hundred percent we feel like our start won the ball game,” said Rocky Ford head coach Mark Henson. “I mean, you look at the difference in the game – an eight- or nine-point game – and right there, that start won the game.”
Ignacio (10-5) trailed by as much as 17, but Ignacio’s tough press defense kept the Bobcats in the game.
The Bobcats’ roster was cut short, as it had been all season after losing Monika Lucero and Ebonee Gomez to injury in the season opener. It was further depleted Thursday.
“I think all of them showed no fear to the end,” Whitt said. “As you saw, it was five players today, that was what we had to work with today, and they played their hearts out.”
IHS senior Jayden Brunson scored a team-high 19 points with five made 3-pointers. She led a fourth-quarter comeback by the Bobcats. IHS was as close as 42-35 after one of her 3-pointers with 2:46 to play.
But Abi Snyder, who scored a game-high 28 points, answered right back with another 3 of her own. And after Brunson picked up a technical foul, Snyder went and hit a pair of free throws to ice the game.
Rocky Ford girls basketball gets sweet revenge against Ignacio
“You know, we were down at halftime and we fought our way back. It just seemed really back-and-forth,” Brunson said. “Every chance I got, every open shot, I took it. And I’ve been a little cold lately, but I’ve been working on my shot more, and I knew if I just set up and do what I know how to do, that I could knock ’em down.
“We’d been preparing for this. We’ve played these guys before, and we knew we wanted to win just as much as they did. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, but we played as hard as we could and left it all out on the court.”
IHS senior Charlize Valdez finished with eight points before she fouled out with the daunting task of defending Snyder, a Colorado Mesa University commit. Shelcie Gosney added seven points, and Laci Brunson scored six.
“Coach (Whitt) and her team, they came fighting. I mean, they could have folded at any time,” Henson said. “Down 17, they could have said, ‘Ah to heck with it, we’re done.’ Absolutely not. They came back and brought it back down to single digits. A great job on their part.”
Lily Hancock was tough inside for the Meloneers, as she grabbed double-digit rebounds and finished with 10 points. Now, Rocky Ford will clash with No. 4 Rye, a league rival, in the Great 8 on Monday.
For Ignacio, it was a tough end for a senior group that never got to play as a full unit all year after the season-opening Achilles injuries to two starters.
But after battling through the COVID-19 pandemic altered season and showing their heart, the Bobcats could return home proud of another season well played.
“I can’t say enough how proud I am of these girls,” Whitt said. “The fortitude and the determination that they had to finish the season the way that they did says a lot about their character. I’m very proud of them.”
Joel Priest contributed to this report.[email protected]
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