GREELEY – Outscored 11-1 during the last 5:19 before halftime, the Dove Creek Bulldogs quietly retreated to their locker room Friday having registered more turnovers than field goals (two) and made free throws (three) combined in seeing a 7-4 first-quarter deficit swiftly swell to 21-7.
“A wise coach who’s coached forever – he’s now with Sierra Grande – in (Dave) Forster told me, ‘You lose that big first one, the second is the hardest to come back and play. Your hopes and dreams are gone.’”
“And I believe it; I saw it,” DCHS skipper Julie Kibel said, alluding to her sixth-seeded squad’s 48-42 loss the previous day to No. 3 McClave to begin the 2022 CHSAA Class 1A State Championships’ Great Eight phase in Bank of Colorado Arena at Butler-Hancock Athletic Center.
“Last night just sucked everything right out of us. I mean, I had kids in my room all night getting iced and taped, and we never have to ice or tape! But we were sore,” she said. “I’ve never seen my team flat, never seen us miss that many shots, have that many turnovers – it was a mentally tough day. It wasn’t that we lost physically; we lost mentally.”
Cheyenne Wells freshman Paige Ryser began the consolation semifinal’s second half stealing the Lady Bulldogs’ inbounds pass, then feeding sophomore Shaylee Scheler for an easy layup. Dove Creek junior Lexi Gray was then whistled for traveling, and the San Juan Basin Leaguers’ woes only compounded until sophomore Kalie Gatlin cashed an irritated three-pointer with 3:18 left in the third quarter, bringing DCHS back to 27-14.
But with senior guard Sydney Dickey and senior post Erin Minton combining for six points during the stanza, the No. 7 Lady Tigers grew their lead to 33-16 going into the final eight regulation minutes, and Minton promptly widened the gap to 35-16 by cleaning up a teammate’s miss.
Fighting for their season, the Lady Bulldogs cranked up their full-court pressure. Gray sank a free throw and Gatlin then dropped in a short-range basket off a steal by junior Kaylin Smith. Sophomore Kylie Gatlin then swished a three-ball and CWHS boss Jason Muth hurriedly took a timeout with 6:34 left and his team’s lead trimmed to 35-23.
Soon after, however, Kylie Gatlin scored inside. Down 36-25 with 5:52 remaining, Kibel called timeout o prep her crew for a final push.
“I will tell you, I was proud of them at the beginning of the fourth quarter,” she said. “They battled; we put the press back in, and we just started looking like our old selves.”
Unfortunately, Dickey (12 points) countered with two free throws and Scheler (11 points) broke loose for a layup. She hit two more free throws after Kylie Gatlin fouled out with 2:25 left, rebuilding Cheyenne Wells’ lead to 42-25. And though Dove Creek would close out the contest on a 7-1 run, highlighted by a trey from freshman reserve Ralynn Hickman, the Lady Bulldogs were unable to earn their seniors one more game on the University of Northern Colorado’s campus as time expired with Cheyenne Wells ahead 43-32.
“Just couldn’t come back, do what we normally do,” said Kibel. “We just never dug ourselves out of the hole. And we dug that ourselves; that’s the sad part.”
DCHS senior Shania Kibel (2 points) exited the game due to an injury resulting from a scrap with Scheler when both sought to rebound a free throw with 0:53.7 remaining, and senior Tara Buffington (3 points) fouled out with 0:29.9 left, allowing Scheler to post the action’s last point.
Ryser and junior Kassadee Dickey each booked five points for the Lady Tigers, who improved to 18-6 overall, while Minton and junior reserve Ella Weed each contributed four points. Kalie Gatlin led the eliminated Lady Bulldogs (21-3 overall) with her eight points and junior Rylee Hickman tallied six – via three of DCHS’ five total field goals during the first three quarters. Kylie Gatlin ended up with five points, basketless Gray three, and junior Trista Barnett two.
