Steamboat Springs girls basketball wins state playoff game
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
2012-13 Sailors girls basketball schedule
- Nov. 30: Steamboat 41, Roaring Fork 36
- Dec. 1: Steamboat 50, Basalt 31
- Dec. 6: Steamboat 61, Montezuma-Cortez 29 at Steamboat Springs Shoot-Out
- Dec. 7: Elizabeth 46, Steamboat 20 at Steamboat Springs Shoot-Out
- Dec. 8: Steamboat 34, Green River 30 for third place at Steamboat Springs Shoot-Out
- Dec. 14: Rifle 44, Steamboat 29
- Dec. 15: Glenwood Springs 46, Steamboat 39
- Dec. 21: Steamboat 53, Summit 16
- Jan. 11: Palisade 47, Steamboat 35
- Jan. 12: Delta 58, Steamboat 26
- Jan. 18: Eagle Valley 41, Steamboat 40
- Jan. 19: Steamboat 53, Battle Mountain 18
- Jan. 26: Glenwood Springs 51, Steamboat 41
- Feb. 1: Steamboat 63, Summit 23
- Feb. 2: Rifle 44, Steamboat 35
- Feb. 8: Steamboat 65, Palisade 55
- Feb. 9: Delta 42, Steamboat 35
- Feb. 15: Steamboat 62, Battle Mountain 12
- Feb. 16: Steamboat 52, Eagle Valley 30
- Feb. 19: District tournament, first round: Steamboat 50, Summit 20
- Feb. 26: State playoffs, first round: Steamboat 32, Green Mountain 30
- March 1: State playoffs, second round: Windsor 37, Steamboat 24
Steamboat Springs — There have been ups. And there have been downs. And until Tuesday, the Steamboat Springs High School girls basketball team hadn’t won a state playoff game in a long time.
With a 32-30 win at Green Mountain on Tuesday, the Steamboat girls basketball team won its first playoff game in more than a decade.
“There have been some exciting games and some good games,” said Steamboat coach John Ameen, who was hired in 2006 and earned his first state playoff victory as a coach. “But since I’ve been here, this is the best win we’ve had. It’s a state playoff win.”
It certainly couldn’t have come any other way than in a physical manner. That appeared the only way the 11th-seeded Sailors could keep up with the sixth-seeded Rams.
Steamboat started the game with three straight 3s to make Green River go out of its man-to-man defense.
The Rams found more success defending the perimeter with their length. Still, the Sailors led 12-11 after one quarter and 18-17 at half.
In an ugly third quarter, Green Mountain took the lead, outscoring Steamboat, 5-2, in the quarter to go up 22-20.
Steamboat’s McKenzie Repollo found Nikki Fry underneath for a bucket with less than a minute remaining giving Steamboat a 31-30 lead.
“Then, the last minute was just a lot of stuff,” Ameen said.
Steamboat fouled Green Mountain, giving the Rams a 1-and-1 opportunity. Green Mountain missed the front end, and Steamboat made 1 of 2 to take a 32-30 lead. After the Rams missed another 1-and-1 opportunity, the Sailors eventually were able to run out the clock.
Fry had 11 points and five rebounds. Repollo had six points. Playing shorthanded without regular contributors Maggie Crouch and Mikaila Jegtvig, Steamboat got bench contributions from Jesse Wallace and Megan Stabile.
Ameen said the team's defense and specifically its 1-3-1 full- and half-court defense gave the Rams problems.
Steamboat next plays at 7 p.m. Friday at Windsor. The Wizards (20-3) are the No. 3 seed in the Richard Tate region.
“We have nothing to lose,” Ameen said. “We didn’t have anything to lose (Tuesday). We weren’t supposed to win. We’re definitely not supposed to win on Friday. Let’s get after them and see what happens.”
To reach Luke Graham, call 970-871-4229 or email lgraham@SteamboatToday.com
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