MANCOS – Basketball programs across the country have signature wins that have come to be remembered as defining moments in the team’s historical narrative.
For the Mancos Bluejay girls, that defining win came on Saturday.
In a tie contest against the defending state champion Sedgwick County Cougars, Mancos possessed the ball in a 27-all game with 10 seconds left. With a packed Bluejay Fieldhouse on its feet, sophomore Claire Goodwin started her drive from the right wing, as a pair of Cougars broke toward the sharpshooter at the free-throw line to deny her a clean look at the basket.
Goodwin never planned to shoot, though. With the flick of her wrist, Goodwin placed an inch-perfect bounce pass to senior Teya Yeomans, who had cut along the baseline and now found herself open. Yeomans collected the pass on the right block and sent up a shot that would send the Bluejays into the record books.
The Mancos bench mobbed Yeomans as the horn sounded moments later, as the Bluejays shocking the Cougars, 31-27, to advance to the program’s first state tournament appearance.
The dramatic finish came as the fruits of 31-plus minutes of truly gritty play from coach Kerri Morgan’s squad.
The wins in the regional round, knocking off Del Norte on the previous afternoon 38-26, combined with their regional final victory, gave Mancos their first regional round wins in over two decades.
Now, the Jays will get their first taste of 2A state quarterfinal action when they grace the Blue Arena floor in Loveland this upcoming Thursday.
Belief they could match ninth-seed Sedgwick County began in the opening quarter, when senior Quincy Montoya and Goodwin knocked in consecutive 3s to give Mancos a 9-3 lead through eight minutes.
Meanwhile, the storyline shifted to the defensive end of the floor, where Mancos put together a master class trying to stop all-state players Abigail Dille and Lainee Nein, the Cougars’ two leading scorers.
“We took them by surprise, especially with how good our defense played,” Morgan said. “We had a chip on our shoulder, and showed what our whole program is all about and put ourselves on the map with all the hard work.”
Mancos (18-5) held the visitors to only three first half field goals, even as their own offense dried up in the second quarter, and took a 12-11 lead into the locker room.
Sedgwick (19-5) scored first to open the third quarter, giving the Cougars their only lead of the game at 13-12 – and then Yeomans took over.
The senior post attacked the rim relentlessly in the second half, either scoring or drawing fouls. Her charity stripe tosses midway through the third reclaimed the lead for the hosts, before the two teams seesawed with big plays in the early stages of the fourth quarter.
Nein eventually got going from the floor, scoring eight of her 13 in the final stanza, including a game-tying layup with one minute left.
After the teams exchanged turnovers while running down the clock in regulation, Mancos came up with one more big stand to have the ball back, as Morgan called for time to draw up the game’s decisive play.
“Teya said ‘I want the ball’ at the end of that game, so we drew up the play to have her start up high, then cut in. We knew that her defender wasn’t going to be able to stay with her,” Morgan said of the game’s final moments.
Yeomans said she wanted to post up.
“So we set up the play, and I trusted my teammates that they were going to be able to get me the ball, and I’m so happy to take advantage of that opportunity,” Yeomans said of her game-winner.
Goodwin stole the ensuing inbound pass as Sedgwick still had two seconds left, and scored once more to provide the final margin – by which point the Bluejays were already in celebration mode.
Yeomans led all scorers with 15 points, while Montoya and Goodwin added six apiece, while sophomore Aysia Mathews added four.
Seniors Sam Simmons and Mandi Peacock collected pivotal rebounds down the stretch as Mancos held its own on the glass against the taller Cougars.
“I knew that we were going to give everything, and if it wasn’t good enough, I’d be able to leave the court knowing that I gave everything,” Yeomans said. “I’ve found so much joy, just going to play with my teammates and learn all of the life lessons through this sport.”
Morgan added that she’s “been coaching a long time, and been working with these girls since they were in third grade.”
“I knew this team was special,” she said.
