GLENWOOD SPRINGS (1/7/12) — The Ghost of Moffat County teams past nearly wiped out a 21 point, third-quarter lead, but the Glenwood girls shook off the specter to sweep their Western Slope opening weekend and extend their undefeated record to 11-0. The boys ran into a sizzling hot Steamboat Springs in the league opener on Friday, but rebounded to defeat Moffat County despite the sudden icy roads causing one of their leading scorers to miss Saturday\’s home contest.
GLENWOOD GIRLS 60, MOFFAT COUNTY 47
The first quarter of Saturday\’s WSL home opener was reminiscent of the battles with coach Craig Mortensen\’s Lady Bulldogs, with 5 lead changes and 2 ties, but a 3-pointer by Delaney Gaddis on a feed from sister Cassidy gave Glenwood a 16-13 lead. The Lady Demons then scored the first 11 points of the second quarter and led by 8 points from Cassidy and 6 steals by Delaney, outscored Moffat 21-5 for a comfortable 37-18 halftime lead.
The Bulldogs, who had made just 1 of 12 three-pointers in the first half, suddenly found the range, led by Makayla Camilletti and drained four treys with Annie Sadvar scoring 3 more via a layup and free throw and by the end of the quarter, Glenwood\’s lead was shaved to five, 45-40.
Then Camilletti and her teammates went from hot to cold, as the junior missed all 4 of her long shots in the final frame and sister Lisa missed twice. Offensive rebounding led to 3 of 4 free throws by Delaney and Connor Adams and Cassidy hit a driving shot to push the lead back to ten, 55-45 with 6 minutes to play. Cassidy buried a 3-pointer and Kenzie Nelson-Buhler, who didn\’t play at Steamboat due to a jammed thumb, sank a jumper, and she and Adams scored put-backs to clinch the 60-47 victory.
Delaney Gaddis led the scoring with 17, adding 4 assists. Cassidy had 14 and Adams had 10. Lexie Warkentin tallied 9 with 8 rebounds and 4 steals, and Nelson-Buehler scored 7.
GSHS GIRLS 62, @ STEAMBOAT 28
Friday\’s return to action after the Christmas break didn\’t present any challenge to the Glenwood girls, who quickly got out to a 12-4 lead, and, featuring seven points each from Cassidy Gaddis and Adams led 16-8 after one quarter. Cassidy continued to find the basket, adding 8 more points in the second period as Glenwood raced to a 36-17 halftime lead.
The Lady Demons led by 20 going into the final quarter, and with the reserves getting most of the court time, still buried the Sailors 16-2 that period for a final 62-28 score. Cassidy Gaddis led the way with 18 points, making all 3 of her three-pointers, and had 9 steals, and 4 assists. Delaney contributed 12 points, 11 assists and 6 steals. Adams added 11 points, Warkentin pulled down 11 rebounds, while scoring 6, and Sarah Davis, starting for Nelson-Buehler, scored 8 points and had 4 steals.
GLENWOOD BOYS 54, MOFFAT COUNTY 45
The sudden snow that finally arrived in the Roaring Fork Valley Saturday led to a series of accidents on I-70, one of which sidelined Collin Porterfield, the Demons\’ second-leading scorer, with a broken nose. But with the 6-5 junior holding an ice pack to his nose while cheering on his teammates, the Demons never trailed in a spirited effort that squared their league record at 1-1, in the 54-45 win over Moffat County.
Mike McGraw, who took just six shots and was held to seven points (8 below his team-leading average) in the WSL opener at Steamboat the night before, scored the Demons\’ first four baskets as Glenwood shook free from a couple of ties to take a 17-11 lead in the initial period.
A steal by Kellin Casey led to a pair of free throws that boosted the Demons\’ advantage to double-digits and his 3-pointer at the buzzer gave Glenwood a 33-20 halftime margin. Both teams shot horrendously (Glenwood was 1-for-10) in the third, but the Demons still led by nine, 36-27, into the final period.
McGraw got going again, scoring 8 points and Randy Burbidge added 6 in a high-scoring fourth quarter that saw the Bulldogs get within seven with 5 minutes to go, but three consecutive baskets by Burbidge sealed the 54-45 outcome.
McGraw led the way with 22 points, adding 12 rebounds. Grant Fegan came off the bench to contribute 12 points, and Burbidge had 9 with 8 boards. Casey tallied 7 and Robert Reynolds had 8 boards to help Glenwood to a 38-28 rebounding advantage despite the presence of 6-7 Bulldog senior Jacob Scroggs.
@ STEAMBOAT 61, GLENWOOD BOYS 43
Steamboat, which came into the league opener with four wins in ten preseason games, belied that record with sensational shooting that lasted throughout the game. The Sailors, led by Jake Miller and Kit Croop made 9 of 11 first quarter shots for a 25-9 advantage, then got better in the second quarter, making 7 of 8 for a 41-16 halftime lead.
Glenwood, with Collin Porterfield hitting three 3-pointers, and McGraw, who was held to just two in the first half, scoring 5 points, outscored the Sailors 14-10 in the third period, and 13-10 in the final frame, but the deficit was too much to overcome.
The Sailors five starters each scored from 9 to 14 points, including a 3-for-3 long-distance performance from sophomore Carter Kounovsky. Porterfield led the Demons with 14 and Fegan hit 3 of 4 three-pointers off the bench, but overall, Glenwood made just 16 of 45 shots. With 5 minutes to go in the game, Steamboat had made 24 of 30 attempts, an 80 per cent mark, before the reserves came in and reduced their final total to 25 of 39.
