Steamboat Today: Hayden girls enter regional on 2-game skid

Archive for Thursday, March 5, 2009

Hayden High School's Kylee Sweetser, middle, and Rachael Koehler swarm a Rangely player during last weekend's district tournament. The Tigers lost both games at the tournament but hope a renewed focus on a fierce full-court press can help them advance out of this weekend's regional tournament. The boys also are playing in the tournament.

By Joel Reichenberger Thursday, March 5, 2009

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Hayden girls basketball, 2008-09

Dec. 2, Hayden 54, Vail Christian 23; (1-0, 1-0)
Dec. 4, Hayden 58, Grand Valley 33 at Meeker Tournament; (2-0, 1-0)
Dec. 5, Hayden 49, Rangely 40 at Meeker Tournament; (3-0, 1-0)
Dec. 6, Hayden 59, North Park 37 at Meeker Tournament; (4-0)
Dec. 12, Hayden 73, Soroco 42; (5-0)
Dec. 13, Hayden 62, Rangely 44; (6-0)
Dec. 20, Hayden 48, Snake River 38; (7-0)
Jan. 9, Hayden 68, West Grand 43; (8-0)
Jan. 10 Hayden 66, Plateau Valley 44; (9-0)
Jan. 20, Hayden 53, Meeker 42; (10-0)
Jan. 23, Paonia 54, Hayden 49;(10-1)
Jan. 27, Hayden 66, Baggs 51;(11-1)
Jan. 30, Hayden 48, North Park 37;(12-1)
Jan. 31, Hayden 45, Rangely 42;(13-1)
Feb. 6, Hayden 50, Meeker 47;(14-1)
Feb. 7, Hayden 59, Vail Christian 22;(15-1)
Feb. 13, Hayden 55, Soroco 39;(16-1)
Feb. 14, Hayden 48, North Park 41;(17-1)

Hayden boys basketball, 2008-09

Dec. 2, Hayden 53, Vail Christian 51; (1-0, 1-0)
Dec. 5, Rangely 55, Hayden 52; (1-1, 1-0)
Dec. 11, Hayden 64, Altamont 55 at Meeker Tournament; (2-1, 1-0)
Dec. 12, Meeker 64, Hayden 46 at Meeker Tournament; (2-2)
Dec. 13, Hayden 57, Rangely 46 at Meeker Tournament; (3-2)(
Dec. 18, Hayden 63, Soroco 54; (4-2)
Dec. 20, Baggs, Wyo. 64, Hayden 43; (4-3)
Jan. 9, Hayden 59, West Grand 53; (5-3)
Jan. 10, Plateau Valley 59, Hayden 35; (5-4)
Jan. 17, Hayden 80, De Beque 50;(6-4)
Jan. 20, Meeker 56, Hayden 46;(6-5)
Jan. 23, Hayden 65, Paonia 33;(7-5)
Jan. 27, Hayden 64, Baggs 43;(8-5)
Jan. 30, Hayden 76, North Park 27;(9-5)
Jan. 31, Rangely 58, Hayden 53;(9-6)
Feb. 6, Meeker 73, Hayden 45;(9-7)
Feb 7, Hayden 43, Vail Christian 30;(10-7)
Feb. 13, Hayden 47, Soroco 42;(11-7)
Feb. 14, Hayden 76, North Park 42;(12-7)

Steamboat Springs — The Hayden High School girls basketball team hopes a trip in the way-back machine can power the squad one round deeper into the state playoffs.

The Tigers, who sustained their only losing streak of the season last weekend to finish fourth in the district tournament, hope to revert to early season form at 3:30 p.m. Friday when they tackle Lutheran Parker in the first round of the regional tournament at Standley Lake High School in Westminster.

"The girls came back with a whole new fire in their eyes this week," Hayden coach Eric Hamilton said. "We need to be a lot more intense. Our defense was just pathetic last week. That's what got us to where we're at - an intense defense and a lot of fire."

The absence of that burning desire last weekend led to two of the team's three losses this season and was most evident when Hayden deployed a full-court press. That defense helped the team tear up early-season opponents. The Tigers won their first 10 games by an average of 19 points.

Hamilton said he's not afraid to switch the starting line up to reignite the flame.

"When you're playing a full-court press, it has to be five girls going as hard as they can," he said. "If one girl lets up, the whole thing breaks down."

To have success against Lutheran Parker, the offense might prove as important as the defense. The Lions won District 7 by beating Front Range Christian, 31-28.

That low score is no anomaly. The 14-7 team didn't score more than 40 points in any of its three district games and failed to break 30 three different times, including in a 24-17 win against Vail Christian.

Hayden beat Vail Christian twice this season by an average of 29 points.

Still, Lutheran Parker's methods have proven successful. The team started its current eight-game winning streak with a 49-8 win against Gilpin County and allowed more than 30 points just once during that stretch.

"We've been preparing all week like we're going to face one of the toughest teams in the state," Hamilton said. "This has been the most intense week of practice we've had all year."

Hayden boys look forward to tourney this weekend

The Hayden boys basketball team lost both of its district tournament games last weekend in Meeker, but the squad didn't lose hope in the close losses to tough teams.

The Tigers hope this weekend in the regional tournament to find a way to turn "almost" into "enough." The process starts at 5 p.m. Friday at Standley Lake High School in Westminster when the boys play the same Lutheran Parker school the girls will face off against.

"To me, it looks like a couple of well-matched teams," Hayden coach Mike Luppes said. "If we play well, I'm optimistic."

Lutheran Parker (15-7) upset Heritage Christian in the District 7 final, 52-41.

The win was the team's ninth in a row, a major turn after a 2-4 start to the season.

The Lions have relied on a wide range of scorers to get the job done. Their leading scorer, Christian Parkinson, averages just 9.4 points a game. The team has four other players averaging more than seven points.

The recipe to advancing to Saturday's regional championship, Luppes said, is to play fast, play confident and avoid turnovers.

"We need to take it straight at them and get to the foul line," he said. "When we are aggressive and we are pushing, a lot of good things happen for us."