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Steamboat Springs Shoot-Out: Day 3

Steamboat Springs — It was exactly the kind of start the Steamboat Springs High School girls basketball team was not looking for.

On Thursday, the squad won in the Steamboat Springs Shoot-Out thanks in large part to a 27-point first quarter. On Friday, it lost thanks in part to a scoreless first quarter.

On Saturday, playing for third place in their home tournament, the Sailors again came out flat, but their streaky offense streaked at the right times and eventually that proved enough to knock off Green River, 34-30.

“Yesterday, we couldn’t get in a flow,” senior McKenzie Repollo said. “We all had a pretty bad game. Today, we came out strong, fast and working our hardest. We still weren’t always in flow with our offense, but we were trying to get the best shot.”

Steamboat’s up-and-down nature almost was comical at times. The team went most of the first quarter without a basket before Alex Feeley canned a 3-point shot and later added a free throw, accounting for all of the team’s points in the period.

In the third quarter, the Sailors managed just two points, with Alice Holmquist’s basket their only score.

“We have to figure out some things on the positive end,” Steamboat coach John Ameen said. “Mainly, against man defense, we’re struggling.”

Thankfully, for Steamboat, the second and fourth quarters were entirely different, and even when their offense was stymied, their defense was strong.

Repollo scored five of her six points in the second quarter, and Megan Stabile also added five in that period. The Sailors scored 16 points in the second quarter, roaring back to take a 20-12 halftime lead, then scored 12 more points in the fourth quarter, thanks to five more from Stabile.

“We put ourselves in a situation we shouldn’t have been in, but we handled it well to close out the game,” Ameen said. “That’s good. We’ve had two games like that this year, and we’ve ended positively with a win, handling ourselves well. That’s good experience for us.”

Stabile finished with 10 to lead the team, which found production from its bench as eight Sailors scored.

The win improves Steamboat to 4-1 on the season and marks their best performance in the Shoot-Out since another third-place finish in 2009. The squad was fourth in 2010 and seventh last year, when it beat Green River, 47-36, in the final game.

Steamboat returns to the court Friday, playing at home against Rifle.

To reach Joel Reichenberger, call 970-871-4253 or email jreichenberger@SteamboatToday.com