Girls head into districts in No. 1 spot
After wins over Wiggins and Akron last Thursday and Friday, the Holyoke girls basketball team will head into the district tournament next week in the No. 1 spot, said coach John Baumgartner.
The Lady Dragons have one more regular season game against Caliche this Friday, but it won’t count toward district standings.
With the top spot, Holyoke will get a bye during first-round games Tuesday, Feb. 22. The bracket for districts Friday and Saturday, Feb. 25-26, at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling has not been finalized yet.
Following the district tournament, the top three teams will be guaranteed a spot in regionals, and additional teams can qualify based on RPI.
Holyoke sneaks past Wiggins in close game Thursday
“Wiggins came out swinging. They threw the first few punches,” said Baumgartner after the Thursday, Feb. 10, game in Wiggins.
It took the Lady Dragons a while to get going, he said. Wiggins led 14-10 at the end of the first quarter and 23-22 at halftime. The third quarter was a turning point in the game. Holyoke outscored Wiggins 21-12 to take an eight-point lead heading into the final quarter.
Baumgartner said the girls missed some free throws in the fourth that would have helped widen the gap a bit more. In the end, they held their lead, and Holyoke went home with the 61-52 victory.
The coach was pleased with how well the girls shot from behind the arc, with nine 3-pointers recorded for the Lady Dragons. However, he said they’ll be working on defense, noting his disappointment that they gave away too many points.
“We have a big target on our back,” said Baumgartner, but the girls have handled the pressure well. The team continues to be ranked No. 1 in Colorado 2A on chsaanow.com.
On Thursday’s stat sheet, Lauren Herman was the scoring leader with 24 points from four 2s, four 3s and four out of seven from the line. Kristin Vieselmeyer also hit double digits with 13 points.
Top rebounders were Vieselmeyer with 15, Herman with 12 and Elise Krogmeier with 10. Those three girls plus Audrey Talavera all blocked one shot apiece.
Vieselmeyer led steals with three, and Herman had the most assists with five.
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