Over the weekend the Colorado 1A region 6 met in La Junta, Colorado to determine who would move on to the state tournament just a week later. Both Springfield teams, Kim/Branson Teams and The South Baca Lady Patriots would play in the regional tournament.

Friday March 4

On this Friday all 5 Baca County teams would play to try and advance to the next round of the regional bracket. The day started off with the Kim/Branson Lady Mustangs facing off against a San Luis Valley opponent in the Sierra Grande Lady Panthers. In their previous meeting the Lady Mustangs won by blowout, with the score being 25-44 in favor of the Lady Mustangs. However, this time the Lady Panthers had an agenda and planned to continue their season.

The Lady Panthers nearly flipped the scoring beating the Lady Mustangs by a score of 28-40. Lady Mustang Emmalee Buhrle tried her best to keep the Mustangs in the game scoring 17 out of their 28 points, but unfortunately none of her teammates were able to match her scoring effort. With the Lady Mustangs falling short in the contest their season was over. Congratulations on a great season, Lady Mustangs.

The next game of the day featured the Springfield Lady Longhorns facing off against an opponent they had recently faced, the Kit Carson Wildcats. The Lady Longhorns previously lost their contest against the Wildcats. The game started out slowly with the score being only 11-3 in favor of the Longhorns at halftime. After halftime the action picked up after Kit Carson found some energy at halftime. The game would go back and forth with both teams trading baskets in the final two periods. After tying the game with under a minute to go, both teams would fail to make a basket until 3 seconds left in the contest. With the ball in Springfield’s possession everyone was thinking one thing, game winning shot.

After the ball ended up in Longhorn Aaliyah Cohoons hand with little to no time left on the clock, she had no choice but to shoot a deep three pointer. The basket was good putting the Longhorns up by three. Kit Carson would have a chance to score with 1 second left, although the half-court prayer would not be answered. Sending the Lady Longhorns to the next round of the Regional tournament.

Friday March 4 (pt 2)

On the afternoon of the same day 3 of the 5 Baca County teams played to advance to the contests the next day.

The Kim/Branson Mustangs started the afternoon facing off against the Moffat Cowboys. The Mustangs found themselves in a very close game early on. However the Kim/Branson would take control of the game and never relinquish it again. The Mustangs won the contest to advance by a score of 36-29.

The next game of the afternoon was the South Baca Lady Patriots against the Centennial Rams. The South Baca Patriots won fairly easily by a score of 64-49. Jami quick led the Patriots with 32 points and 18 rebounds. Advancing to the next day to face off against the McClave Lady Cardinals.

The last game of the night featured the Springfield Longhorns against the Cotopaxi Pirates. The Longhorns were determined to move on to the next round as they beat the Pirates by a score of 48-39. Longhorn Kyler Crane led the charge offensively for the Longhorns, scoring 19 of their 46 points. Advancing them to the next round to face off against one of the top teams in the state, the Granada Bobcats.

Saturday March 5

The next day the Springfield Lady Longhorns kicked off the action for Baca County in their matchup against the Sangre de Cristo Thunderbirds. The Lady Horns held on for most of the game going back and forth with the Thunderbirds in scoring. In the 3rd quarter of the game the Longhorns brought the score within 2 points, 23-25 Sangre. After the score was brought close, the Thunderbirds stepped on the gas. Outscoring the Lady Longhorns 10-20 after that surge from the Horns. The Longhorns would fall to the Thunderbirds 33-45. Ending their run of a season.

The next game featured the Kim/Branson Mustangs against another top team in the state of Colorado, the Sierra Grande Panthers. In a very fast paced game the Kim/Branson Mustangs tried holding on to the top ranked Panthers but eventually looked exhausted in the end. The final score of the contest ended up with the Mustangs underneath the Panthers , 35-54. Ending their run in the Colorado 1A playoffs.

Saturday March 5 (pt 2)

The following game featured the South Baca lady Patriots and the top ranked team in the region the McClave Lady Cardinals. Previously in the year, the Cardinals beat the Lady Patriots by a score of 38-28. The Patriots struggled offensively in the contest only hitting 9-39 shots in the contest. However, defense is what kept the Patriots in the game. Kate Elmore led the Patriots offensively with 7 blocks keeping the Lady Cardinals from scoring on many occasions. Unfortunately the lack of offense was the difference maker in the game as the Lady Patriots were only able to score 25 points. McClave would score 35 defeating the Lady Patriots, and ending their run of a season.

The final game of the night, and the final hope for a Baca County team to make it to the state tournament was foiled when the Springfield Longhorns lost a hard fought battle to the Granada Bobcats. Coming into the contest it was easy for fans to not think much as these teams had met previously in the year, and Springfield lost that contest by nearly 40. However, the Longhorns battled until the very end. Going into halftime the Longhorns kept the Bobcats lead to only 7 points. Keeping them in striking distance after the break.

After the break, the Bobcats grew their lead by 4 points. With the lead being 11 going into the final period of play. In the final period of the contest the Bobcats once again grew their lead, leading to a Longhorn defeat, and putting an end to their season. Once again it was Kyler crane leading the Longhorns offensively scoring 18 points and adding 8 rebounds.

Farewell to Basketball for now

Although the teams in Baca County were not able to achieve their ultimate goal. We are all proud of the things these teams have accomplished this year. Congratulations to all teams this past year of basketball! On to next year.