Free throws help Lady Dragons to crucial win against Ignacio

    After a loss to Limon at the state basketball tournament, the Lady Dragons wanted to “live another day,” as coach John Baumgartner put it. A 45-35 win over No. 8 Ignacio Friday, March 9, guaranteed the girls a spot in the consolation championship Saturday.
    With a 7 p.m. game the night before and an 8:45 a.m. game Friday morning, Baumgartner was worried with how the girls would handle the stress of the state tournament.
    “I was really impressed with how we came out and played,” he said. “The girls did a great job responding to the loss.”
    The coach praised the team for both their offensive and defensive effort against what Baumgartner called a very physical team. That effort paid off with a nice 10-point win over Ignacio.
    Both teams put up seven points in the first quarter. Holyoke fell behind three points in the next period but pulled ahead to outscore Ignacio 14-11 for the 21-18 lead at halftime.
    Baumgartner said he could really see Holyoke’s confidence level rising in the second half of the game.
    HHS started the third quarter with six points while keeping Ignacio scoreless. They brought their lead up to 33-24 heading into the final quarter.
    The end of the game was all about free throws. Ignacio sent four girls to the line, and of Holyoke’s 12 points in the fourth, 10 came from free throws.
    “When you make 20 out of 26 free throws, you’re going to win,” said Baumgartner.

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