Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — It’s probably too early to call it a trend or even a pattern, but through two games of the 2011 Steamboat Springs Shoot-Out, the Steamboat Springs High School girls have let porous starts and the lack of a go-to scorer relegate them to the seventh- and eighth-place game. 

Steamboat, just like it did in Thursday’s opener, struggled early against Montrose, falling 47-29. 

Steamboat (2-2) plays Green River, Wyo., at 9 a.m. Saturday. 

“We handled our own storm; we created a little better,” said Steamboat coach John Ameen, whose team fell behind Windsor, 20-0, on Thursday. “This didn’t feel like an 18 point game. If we hit some open layups and get out on their shooters to prevent open looks, it changes the complexion of the game.”

Steamboat, however, started the game with three consecutive turnovers and had nine in the opening quarter in helping Montrose build a 14-6 lead. The Indians were able to extend the lead to as much as 22-10 midway through the second quarter before Steamboat started to find some room on offense. 

The Sailors cut the lead to 25-14 at halftime but never would get any closer. 

Montrose scored nine of the first 14 points of the third quarter to give the Indians a commanding 33-19 lead. 

“We came out stronger than we did,” Sailors guard Alex Feeley said. “I think it’s really just us getting out of our own heads and figuring out what we need to do mentally.”

Steamboat can start on the offensive end. In both Thursday and Friday’s games, Steamboat played good enough defense to keep the team in the game. In each game, though, Steamboat hasn’t found any sort of rhythm offensively. 

On Friday, the Sailors scored 29 points for the second consecutive game. 

The Sailors are without injured senior Eryn Rinck. Still, through two tournament games, Steamboat hasn’t found any answers on the offensive end. 

“We’ve gotten a lot of inside looks; we just haven’t finished around the rim,” Ameen said. 

For the second night, Nikki Fry paced the Sailors with 12 points. Feeley added seven, and McKenzie Repollo had six. 

The Sailors have one more shot at getting a win at their home tournament, something that’s important as the they move forward with the season. 

“It’s a big thing for us as a team, so we don’t feel like we didn’t win at our own tournament,” Feeley said. “It’s more of a confidence thing than a placement thing.”

— To reach Luke Graham, call 970-871-4229 or email lgraham@SteamboatToday.com