Archive for Saturday, February 26, 2005
Third time no charm for Sailors girls
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The third time wasn't the charm for the Steamboat Springs girls basketball team Saturday night.
For the third season in a row, the Sailors were going for a post-season upset of a higher-seeded Moffat County team.
It was also the third time the two teams met this season, with the Bulldogs winning the first two.
"The third time (against Steamboat) has been our Achilles heel," Moffat coach Craig Mortensen said. "But I think that was more on my mind than the girls."
A 19-point second quarter by the No. 1 seeded Bulldogs, helped ease Mortensen's mind.
Getting outscored 19-8 in the second quarter was too much to overcome for the Sailors in a 58-46 loss to Moffat in the sub-regional tournament.
"We couldn't get the shots to fall at the right time," Steamboat coach Ashley Berggren said.
The Sailors led at the end of the first quarter, 9-8. Their zone kept Moffat off balance in the first quarter, and they found just enough openings on offense to earn the lead after trailing, 4-0.
In the second quarter, the Bulldogs were more aggressive on the dribble, and they opened up some shots.
Junior Mari Katherine Raftopoulos was the catalyst for the Bulldogs' second quarter run. She scored seven unanswered points to start the quarter.
"Mari Katherine stepped it up huge on both ends," Mortensen said. "She was aggressive, and we needed her to be."
The Bulldogs went into the locker room with a 27-17 lead at halftime.
The lead stayed near 10 points for the Bulldogs in the second half.
"Moffat has a great program," Berggren said. "They have a great outside game. They do great inside and outside."
Senior Kayla Kostur was held to 12 points in the game. According to stats turned in to the Rocky Mountain News, Kostur was leading Class 4A with an average of 19.5 points a game.
"Our girls did a nice job on her," Mortensen said. "They did a nice job on her every game."
In the three games that the Sailors have faced Moffat County, Kostur scored nine, 12 and 12, respectively.
Jessica Peters led the Sailors with 17 points. Nine of those came from beyond the arc.
The Sailors played the same five players for most of the game. Those five also were the only ones to score.
After a 2-7 start, the Sailors came together in the season to go 10-4, including a 59-30 blowout against D'Evelyn on Friday night.
"These girls have come so far in such a short amount of time," Berggren said. "I'm so proud of the way they fought every time."
In Berggren's first year as coach, the Sailors finished the regular season tied for third in the Western Slope League with a 9-5 record and finished 12-12 overall.
The Western Slope League had three teams advance into the Sweet 16 and the regional portion of the state tournament Saturday. Rifle defeated Elizabeth, 69-32; Glenwood Springs beat Pueblo Central, 50-47; and Moffat County defeated Steamboat. The Western Slope finished the weekend 6-3 after Steamboat and Eagle Valley lost Saturday. Battle Mountain was eliminated Friday night.

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