Rams can’t get past Pirates

Click to Enlarge Browse and Buy Post Independent Photos Roaring Fork senior Rebecca Roeber lines up a shot during the Rams’ 50-40 first-round District 2 Tournament loss to Olathe in Carbondale Tuesday night. It was the final prep game for Roeber and eight other seniors on the Roaring Fork team. John Stroud | Valley Journal

By John Stroud
Carbondale Correspondent
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado
February 27, 2008

Print Email

CARBONDALE — Same stage. Same sour note to end the Roaring Fork girls basketball season.

What was looking to be a promising post season for the Rams —13-6 overall, 10-4 in the 3A Western Slope League, and a No. 3 seeding entering the District 2 Tournament — came to an abrupt first-round end Tuesday night in Carbondale at the hands of the sixth-seeded Olathe Pirates, 50-40.

It was a bit too much deja vu for the Roaring Fork girls, who saw their season ended by the same team last year, also in the first round of the district tournament. And, just like this year, on their home court.

“It’s tough for the seniors, especially after losing it this same way last year,” Roaring Fork coach Kirk Cheney said. The loss closed out the prep basketball careers of eight Ram seniors.

It’s not like Roaring Fork didn’t have its chances to make amends Tuesday. The first half saw Roaring Fork battle back from eight down to take a 23-21 lead at the intermission on a last-second lay-in by senior Rebecca Roeber, who had 10 first-half points.

But every time it looked like the Rams might pull away and start packing for the championship round in Palisade this weekend, something went wrong.

Roaring Fork held a slim lead through the third quarter and built as much as a nine-point advantage to start the fourth quarter, when senior guard Celeste Comings found a wide open Jade Bath for a 3-pointer from the left side.

But the Pirates kept chipping away at the lead and drawing a series of fouls that eventually turned into a lopsided 23-7 quarter that doomed Roaring Fork.

Olathe’s Paige Markley, who finished with a game-high 18 points, connected on a pair of free throws with 3 minutes and 8 seconds to play in the game to tie it at 39. Forty seconds later, Breanna Brew’s layup gave Olathe its first lead since the late stages of the first quarter, 41-39.

After that, it seemed nothing the Rams did to try to regain their composure worked.
Cheney was at a loss for any kind of explanation, other than missed opportunities, inopportune turnovers and fouls down the stretch killed the Rams’ chances.

Olathe connected on 12 of 15 free throws, seven of them in the fourth quarter, to seal the deal

“Olathe fought till the end, and played well to stay in it. You have to give them credit,” Cheney said. “We’d go up, and then let them back in it. I don’t know … ”

Roeber led all Rams scorers with 12 points, while senior Daisy Tena added 10.

Brew, Briana Vigil and Joya L’Ecuyer each had 10 points for the Pirates.

Cheney praised a Roaring Fork team that’s had its ups and downs all season, and especially the eight seniors who played their last game in a Rams jersey — Comings, Bath, Roeber, Tena, Nikki Smeins, Heather Sebald, Elley McBrayer and Leslie French.

“This is a great group of kids, and that can’t get lost in all of this,” Cheney said.

Titans grit out win over Gunnison

GUNNISON — In a trademark Coal Ridge defensive struggle, the Titans escaped Gunnison with a 40-36 girls basketball win on Tuesday, advancing to Friday’s Class 3A District 2 Tournament semifinals at Palisade High School.

Morgan Jessup paced Coal Ridge with 12 points as they earned a matchup with Basalt at 6:30 p.m. Friday. The winner of that one moves on to Saturday’s district title game.

Jacqulin Lavato led Gunnison with 15 points.