Photo by John F. Russell
Hayden senior Erin Koehler takes a shot during the first half of Tuesday night's district playoff game against Soroco in Hayden. The Tigers held on in the closing seconds of the thrilling contest to escape with a 52-51 victory.
Hayden girls basketball narrowly escapes Soroco
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
2011-12 Tigers girls basketball schedule
- Dec. 1 to 3: Meeker Tournament — Game 1: Hayden 56, Cedaredge 37; Game 2: Hayden 38, Palisade 31; Championship game: Hayden 50, Grand Valley 40
- Dec. 8: Hayden 56, Vail Christian 21
- Dec. 16: Hayden 65, North Park 26
- Dec. 17: Little Snake River 50, Hayden 43
- Jan. 3: 6:30 p.m. vs. Basalt
- Jan. 6: Meeker 62, Hayden 59
- Jan. 10: 7 p.m. at Little Snake River
- Jan. 13: Hayden 70, West Grand 20
- Jan. 14: Hayden 61, North Park 22
- Jan. 21: Hayden 56, Vail Christian 32
- Jan. 27: Hayden 52, Soroco 35
- Jan. 28: Rangely 42, Hayden 33
- Feb. 3: Hayden 63, Plateau Valley 36
- Feb. 4: Paonia 83, Hayden 65
- Feb. 10: Hayden 62, Soroco 52
- Feb. 11: Hayden 72, West Grand 31
- Feb. 21: Hayden 52, Soroco 51
- Feb. 24: District Tournament: Paonia 66, Hayden 52
- Feb. 25: District Tournament: Hayden 61, Rangely 43
- March 2 and 3: Regional tournament
2011-12 Rams girls basketball schedule
- Dec. 1: Soroco 33, North Park 23
- Dec. 17: Gilpin County 41, Soroco 38
- Jan. 6: Denver Eagles 74, Soroco 64
- Jan. 9: Soroco 55, Beth Eden 29
- Jan. 13:Rangely 67, Soroco 43
- Jan. 14: Soroco 53, Vail Christian 36
- Jan. 20: Soroco 51, Plateau Valley 28
- Jan. 21: Soroco 42, West Grand 40
- Jan. 27: Hayden 52, Soroco 35
- Jan. 28: Paonia 62, Soroco 43
- Feb. 3: Soroco 46, North Park 36
- Feb. 4: Soroco 68, West Grand 44
- Feb. 7: Soroco 49, Vail Christian 45
- Feb. 10: Hayden 62, Soroco 52
- Feb. 11: Meeker 44, Soroco 43
- Feb. 18: Hayden 53, Battle Mountain 46
- Feb. 21: Hayden 52, Soroco 51
Hayden — Now, that is a rivalry game — the grandeur, both sides decked out and the gym so loud no one could hear.
And unlike the first two matchups between the Hayden High School and Soroco High School girls basketball teams, this one lived up to the billing.
In the end, Hayden did just enough, withstood a blistering Soroco second half and pulled away for a 52-51 win.
The win puts Hayden into the second part of the district tournament Friday and Saturday in West Grand. Hayden most likely will play top seed Paonia on Friday. The loss ends Soroco’s season.
“A win is a win at this point,” said Tigers coach Michelle Wilkie, whose team will play the next two weekends. “If we would have panicked late, we would have shut down.”
Each team had chances to win.
Hayden led most of the first half and led by as much as nine, at 27-18, late in the first half. But anytime it looked like the Tigers would break it open, the Rams would get back into the game.
Soroco closed the third quarter on a 6-0 run to narrow the lead to 44-40 going into the final quarter.
The Rams then opened the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 47-44 lead with 4 minutes, 54 seconds left.
Hayden senior forward Erin Koehler then scored back-to-back baskets to give Hayden a 49-47 lead.
The teams traded baskets again, with the Tigers holding onto a 52-51 lead with 5.3 seconds remaining.
The Rams drew a play up to get senior guard Madison George in the lane, but George lost control and was called for a carry.
The game, however, never should have come to that. Soroco missed 10 free throws in the final quarter and was just 17 of 35 in the game.
“Free throws,” Soroco coach David Bruner said. “That’s that. We knew we were going to have to be aggressive on the offensive end. But it’s hard to win games when you miss that many free throws.”
Koehler led all scorers with 18 points, including seven in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter. Lindsay Miles led the Rams with 16, and George had 14.
“It turned into a fun game,” Koehler said. “We have quiet confidence. We know what to expect. We just tried to keep our composure and think about the next play.”
To reach Luke Graham, call 970-871-4229 or email lgraham@SteamboatToday.com
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