Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — More than a month after playing its last home game, the Soroco High School girls basketball team finally got to enjoy home-court advantage during two weekend contests.

However, the Rams came away with only one win, defeating West Grand, 40-32, on Saturday. They lost to Meeker, 49-33, on Friday.

"They weren't going to let someone else come into their gym and win," Rams coach Danelle Rivera said about her team's attitude after dropping Friday's game.

The home games were the first for Soroco since beating Vail Christian on Dec. 9. This season, the Rams are 2-1 at home with three more home games scheduled this season.

The Rams (4-7 overall, 0-3 in league) and Cowboys were close going into halftime Friday, but Meeker pulled away in the second half for the win. Soroco was the team that pulled away Saturday, outscoring West Grand, 21-7, in the second quarter.

"Their defense is, right now, winning games for them," Rivera said.

West Grand narrowed the gap in the fourth quarter, but the outcome never was in doubt.

"They let them a little bit back into the game," Rivera said. "We knew West Grand had it in them. I think it was something they learned real quickly. You can't let down when you have a whole quarter left to play."

Soroco hosts rival Hayden at 5:30 p.m. Friday in Oak Creek. The Rams defeated the Tigers earlier this season in a non-league game. Friday's game counts in the league standings. Soroco hosts Paonia at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

"These are two league games that are very crucial games for us to win," Rivera said. "They have to head in with confidence, but at the same time respecting that Hayden is coming in looking for revenge. The coaching staff is letting these girls now this will be a tough game."