Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Now, things get interesting.

The Steamboat Springs High School girls team is arguably the hottest team going into Thursday’s district tournament in Grand Junction.

And with an easy 50-20 win Tuesday in the pigtail game against Summit, all signs point to a wild and wacky tournament.

“It took a little longer for them to buy in to how we want to play,” Steamboat coach John Ameen said. “But they’re seeing the fruits of that now.”

The Sailors now have won four of their past five games. The team’s lone loss came at No. 1 seed Delta, a game Steamboat should have won.

Steamboat, the sixth seed in the tournament, plays No. 3 Rifle at 6 p.m. Thursday.

“I’m confident, and the whole team is behind me,” Steamboat guard McKenzie Repollo said. “With the way we’ve been playing, we can get into the (district) championship game.”

The first order of business, though, was Tuesday. Playing a Summit team that Steamboat already had beaten twice this year, the game never was in doubt.

Summit had the Steamboat lead down to 12-8 early in the first quarter before the Sailors finally started to play well offensively. Steamboat ended the quarter on a 15-2 run to make it 27-10 at half.

The Sailors forced 20 first-half Tigers turnovers and 41 in the game. Steamboat pressed for much of the first three quarters, not allowing Summit to get in any rhythm.

The Sailors press was aided by a deep bench that saw the team rotate at least 10 girls in and out.

“That affects most teams even if they don’t turn the ball over,” Ameen said. “Maybe it’s not physically as much as it is mentally wearing.”

Steamboat led 39-12 after three quarters and freely subbed in the final eight minutes. After a slow start offensively, the Sailors shot the ball well in the second half, particularly from the 3-point line. Steamboat made nine 3-pointers in the contest and got balanced scoring.

Repollo led the team with 12 points, all on 3-pointers. Alex Feeley added 10 off the bench, including a pair of 3-pointers. Eight Sailors scored.

Now, the Sailors prepare for a Bears team that beat them twice during the regular season. The last time was a nine-point defeat that keyed the Sailors’ latest run.

“I think they’ll realize we have more fight,” Ameen said. “We want to make a run at it and see where we end up. We want to make the state playoffs without question. We want to make the championship game.”

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