Steamboat Pilot & Today

Hayden — The pact was simple.

The last time the Soroco girls basketball team lost — in early February — the room went silent, and what was ahead was important.

“We set a goal,” Soroco coach David Bruner said. “We said we’re going to win those five games (ahead of us), go back to Rangely and see if they can beat us. I don’t think they can.”

It would be hard to argue that there is a hotter team right now than the Rams. With a 55-32 win at Hayden on Friday, Soroco finished the regular season with a 14-5 record, the best a Rams team has been since 1997 when the team went 17-4.

And after that talk in the locker room three weeks ago, the Rams have done exactly what they said they would.

The win was the Rams' fifth in a row and almost assuredly sets up a rematch with Rangely on Tuesday.

District brackets will be finalized by Sunday.

On Friday, the Rams all but decided the game in the first eight minutes. Soroco jumped out to a 19-5 first-quarter lead, thanks to 10 points from Jessica Rossi.

Soroco extended it to 34-9 at half.

“Emphasized early to get up and down the court,” Bruner said.

The game was eerily reminiscent of the first time the two teams played this season. The Rams jumped out to a big first half lead before Hayden responded. The Tigers outscored the Rams 23-21 in the second half, but the first 16 minutes were too much to overcome.

“The first quarter kicked our butt,” Hayden coach Michelle Wilkie said. “We were ready to get back in transition in that first quarter but we couldn’t execute. I think we were too riled up and couldn’t settle down.”

Wilkie isn’t sure which team Hayden would play but thought it would be at Hotchkiss on Tuesday.

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