The Roaring Fork High School Rams boys got off to an impressive start in the shortened 2021 basketball campaign, downing the visiting Olathe Pirates 72-49 to open the season last Thursday.

The Rams jumped to a 22-6 lead in the opening frame, and led 31-16 at the half, led by the hot hand of senior Graham Pietch, who scored 20 points on the night.

Seniors Tristan Maker and Alex Jaquez each added 10 points, and sophomore River Byrne had nine points.

The Rams host the 2-0 Coal Ridge Titans at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Rifle 32, Grand Valley 23

Rifle junior Josh Avila was a fourth-quarter force to be reckoned with in the offensive zone, as the Bears earned a nonleague win over the host Grand Valley Cardinals, also on Thursday.

Down 21-17 heading into the fourth quarter, Avila notched six of Rifle’s 18 points that ultimately ended up winning the game for Rifle, 32-23.

The teams were knotted 6-6 coming out of the first quarter, and Grand River grabbed 15-10 lead at the half. Again, the teams played even in the third before the Bears exploded for an 18-4 run in the final stanza.

The Cardinals were led by junior Emilio Garcia with 12 points.

Grand Valley suffered a 59-24 road loss at Eagle on Saturday, while the Bears are idle until Thursday when they host Summit in the 4A Western Slope League opener.

Next up for Grand Valley is a Tuesday trip to play Grand Junction Central.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Roaring Fork 37, Summit 36

After dropping their first game, 41-28, to visiting Olathe on Jan. 28, the Roaring Fork Rams held the home court for the one-point win, 37-36, Saturday versus 4A Summit in a nonleague matchup.

The Rams opened a 21-13 lead over the Tigers at the half and played even with the visitors through the third.

After letting the lead slip to one point at the end of the fourth quarter, Roaring Fork denied Summit’s possession in the final seconds to secure the win.

Senior Lily Nieslanik led the Rams with 12 points, and senior Maya Lindgren added 11. Summit was led by sophomore Autumn Rivera with 15.

Grand Valley 38, Rifle 30

Bailey Radel was lights out from three-point land, AbbeyRose Parker posed a significant force on the drive and the Grand Valley girls picked up their first win of the truncated 2021 season Thursday, 38-30 over Rifle.

After a Saturday win on the road at Eagle Valley, 66-51, the Lady Cardinals head into the week 2-0 on the season.

Down 27-17 going into the final frame in the season opener, the Bears clawed their way to making it a game after a 14-6 run by the Cardinals in the third.

Rifle sophomore shooting guard Lizbeth Gutiérrez Lopez would hit two free throws at the foul line to pull within eight points. Later on, junior Jamie Caron hit another two points at the stripe to close the gap 29-21.

A late-game steal by the Cardinals, however, would lead to a couple of insurance points down the stretch, sending the Bears back the den.

Caron had 18 points on the night for the Bears, and Parker, a sophomore, had 16 for the Cardinals.

Grand Valley heads to Grand Junction Tuesday to take on Central at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Rifle hosts Steamboat Springs at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, then travels to Summit Thursday for a 4:30 p.m. game

GIRLS SWIMMING

The Glenwood Springs High School girls swim and dive team opened the season with a strong team win Saturday at Summit High versus the host Tigers and the Moffat County Bulldogs.

“This was easily one of our best starts to a season in many years,” coach Steve Vanderhoof said. “I am not sure if I have ever witnessed one of our teams overwhelm the competition like they did. We not only won every event, we placed second in every event, with the exception of the 400 freestyle relay.”

And, that was only by virtue of a disqualification due to an early relay exchange, Vanderhoof said.

Standout performances for the Demons came from freshmen Amelie Ogilby (200 individual medley and 500 freestyle) and Addie Newton (100 breast stroke), both with first-place finishes in their events.

Sophomore and first-year GSHS swimmer Anna Thornton also took first place in the 50 and 100 freestyle event, and was part of the winning 400 freestyle relay with Zoe Boston, Sophie Price and Anna Moon.

Junior Amy Madsen had first-place finishes in 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke, and Kylee Smith was first in the 200 freestyle and 100 fly.

The Demons dive team, made up of seniors Abby Scruton and Libby Claassen, took first and second place, respectively, in the 1-meter dive competition.

The divers are at Gunnison for a dive-only meet Tuesday, and the Demons host a series of home meets Feb.12, 13, 18 and 19 at the Glenwood Springs Community Center.