Steamboat Pilot & Today

Hayden — The Hayden boys and girls basketball teams will be looking to start off league play on a positive note before Christmas break.

The two squads will play their first Western Slope League games tonight in North Park.

The girls, who are 4-2 on the season, are the defending league champions. Donald Rolando's team will take on a young North Park squad that is lead by sophomores Erin Robben and Scotland Wattenberg. The game is set for 5:30 p.m.

Last year, North Park went 4-6 in league play but their head coach Randy Hodgson is expecting a big year from his squad.

Robben led North Park in scoring last year and was named all-conference her freshman year.

The boys are 2-3 on the season and will be taking on a North Park team that features four returning starters. Last year, North Park went 1-7 in league play.

Starters returning for North Park are seniors Bret Kaup and John Irvine and juniors Scott Hodgson and Chris Lance. The game is expected to start at 7 p.m.

The two teams will open up league play at home on Saturday when Plateau Valley comes to town. The girls game is set for 4 p.m.

Matt Ray's boys team will be taking on a Plateau Valley team that features eight seniors. The Cowboys are led by seniors Jeff Christensen, Mark Azcarraga and Jeff York.

The Cowboys finished 3-16 last year and have a new coach, Matt Lindholm.

Going into this weekend's action, both of the Hayden squads are coming off victories.

On Tuesday night, the boys hosted and defeated Moffat County's junior varsity 62-60. The girls had a much easier time with Moffat County's junior varsity in Craig Tuesday night. The girls won the game 41-25.