GYPSUM (1/29/13) — A two-point loss in the Western Slope League opener at home to Eagle Valley before Christmas derailed the momentum of an undefeated pre-season and has seemed to have the Glenwood Springs Lady Demons scrambling to find their Mojo ever since.
At Eagle Valley last Tuesday, the girls found it and then some, dispatching those same Lady Devils in their home gym, named “The Inferno,” 49-33 with a spark from sophomore Jordan DeCrow and an active, smothering second half defense that limited Eagle Valley to just 11 points.
DeCrow, making her varsity starting debut helped Glenwood get off to a good start, scoring 4 of the Demons 14-9 first quarter advantage and dishing out a pair of assists. It would get better, but first Eagle Valley narrowed the gap to 26-22 at halftime. However with DeCrow, Madi Spence, and Delaney Gaddis each getting three steals in the third quarter, Glenwood forced 12 Devil turnovers and pushed the lead to 37-28.
In the fourth quarter, Glenwood limited the dazed Devils to just 2-of-13 shooting (who also missed 6 of 7 free throws), and with DeCrow scoring 4 points, handing out 3 assists and even pulling down 4 rebounds, outscored Eagle Valley, 12-5.
For the game, the home team turned the ball over 32 times and shot just 15-of-52. Gaddis had 9 steals, 9 rebounds, and along with Kenzie-Nelson Buehler led a balanced Demon offense with 13 points, DeCrow adding 10 to go with 6 assists, 5 steals, and 7 rebounds. Spence came off the bench to grab 11 second-half rebounds, and Hailey Armstrong had 8 boards as Glenwood dominated the glass, 44-30.
The win puts the Demons (10-3, 6-3 WSL) just a half game behind the Devils (9-4, 6-2 WSL) for second place behind undefeated Delta (10-3, 7-0), and sets up a top-tier battle with Rifle (7-5, 5-3) in Glenwood Thursday. Meanwhile Eagle Valley travels to Palisade (6-7, 5-3), which defeated Glenwood 43-39 two weeks ago.
EAGLE VALLEY 50, GLENWOOD BOYS 37
With Jared Gambrel hitting a pair of three-pointers and Brian Burbidge adding a pair of baskets, Glenwood got off to a sizzling 10-3 start at Eagle Valley, but Devil coach Jim Bair called a time out with 3:52 left in the first quarter, switched his team into man-to-man defense and proceeded to outscore Glenwood 9-0 in the next 3 minutes, taking a 14-13 lead by quarter’s end. The Devils then scored the first 13 points of the second period to basically put an end to the game, eventually winning by that spread, 50-37.
The Demons played Eagle fairly even after that, but could never really get back into the game, trailing 27-15 at half and 40-25 going into the final quarter. Ayren Hart led the Devils with 15 points, aided by 13 from 6-6 junior Travis Edgar, who also pulled down 13 rebounds. Logan Holmberg matched that total under the boards for Glenwood, but not on the scoreboard, tallying just a free throw before fouling out. Gambrel led the Demons with 12 points, making 3-of-4 treys, with Burbidge adding 11 points.
The Demons (4-10, 3-6 WSL) will try to move into the fourth spot in the Western Slope standings when they host Rifle (4-8, 2-6) on Tuesday. Steamboat Springs (7-6, 3-5), which meets second-place Delta, and Battle Mountain (7-6, 3-5) are currently tied, a half-game ahead of Glenwood.
