Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Junior Shelley Dunlop scored 17 points to help lift the Steamboat Springs girls basketball team to a 62-47 win over Aspen in each team's first game of the Steamboat Shoot-out Thursday.

Aspen senior Lizzie Suiter scored the game's opening bucket, quickly putting her team up two, but it was a short-lived lead as Steamboat senior Bayli Stillwell tied it up with her bucket and teammate Jen Weber drained a 3 to give the Sailors an advantage they would only build on in the victory.

Despite taking control of the game right after the opening whistle, Steamboat (3-0) was up just 10 at the half, and coach Steve Moos said he told his team at halftime that it needed to take control of the contest.

Steamboat came out in the third quarter ready to score and, more importantly, defend.

The Sailors outscored the Skiers 20-11 in the third quarter behind great full-court pressure and Dunlop down low.

"We just put (the full-court press) in this week," Moos said. "We have the depth and quickness up front to use it. They did a real good job for us just putting it in."

Sailors guards Anya Allen and Bailey Draper allowed Aspen's ball handlers little to no room to dribble or pass, causing the rattled Skiers guards into ill-timed passes or other turnovers.

Behind Suiter, a 6-2 athletic post, Aspen made a small run at Steamboat, closing the home team's lead to 12, but Suiter was her team's only offense for a majority of the third and fourth quarters.

Moos said the Sailors' post players made a point to not allow Suiter to take over the game, and he credited his players for their work on the senior.

And when Aspen did manage to pull to within 12, Weber trained a timely 3, thrusting her team back up by 15 with less than five minutes remaining in the game.

Moos said Allen and Draper did a good job picking their times to dribble penetrate and either shooting the ball or dishing it off. Many of Dunlop's baskets late in the game came off Allen's heads-up play.

"We've encouraged that with (Allen and Draper)," Moos said. "It's great simple basketball."

All eight players that got on the floor for the Sailors scored Thursday night. Other than Dunlop, Weber was the only other Steamboat player in double digits with 10.

Junior Erin Christensen and senior Jannike Combs each had eight points. Stillwell had seven. Senior Tracy Lucas had five points. Allen chipped in with four and Draper had three to round out the scoring.

Up next for the Steamboat girls in their modified round-robin tournament is Basalt at 5:10 p.m. today at the high school's new gym.

The Longhorns defeated 2A Jefferson Academy 81-33 on Thursday.

Moos expects a good game from Basalt and said his team will have to concentrate on committing fewer fouls in the games ahead to remain undefeated on the season.

In Thursday's other tournament game, Roaring Fork defeated Conifer, 72-60.