MANCOS – With a new cast of players seeing varsity playing time, dealing with growing pains appeared inevitable for the Mancos girls basketball team.
A new head coach, Julie Oliver, has helped the Bluejays to take those challenges with resilience – and after some lumps during the opening month of the season, Mancos is making a strong push to return to the 2A postseason.
Mancos blasted Ouray 48-12 Saturday afternoon in Bluejay Fieldhouse to pick up their fifth win in the past seven outings, and now the Bluejays enter the homestretch of the season within sight of top 32 standing within the CHSAA Seeding and Selection Index.
The Bluejays (6-10, 5-4 SJBL) are leaning on hard-nosed defense to spark their recent run of success, as only one opponent in their last seven contests has scored more than 36 points. Meanwhile, the Jays have won three close contests in that span, including a 27-24 squeaker over Telluride on Thursday.
Freshman Tinsley Aspromonte ranks as the league’s third-highest scorer, and added to her strong high school debut season with an 18 points against the Trojans. Senior Randi Lewis added to the double figure production with an 11-point outburst while every Bluejay who saw the court scored for Oliver’s squad.
Junior Caylee Moore tallied six points, and senior Teagan Archer and junior Zoey Gilstrap scored four apiece as Mancos compiled a 24-5 lead at the half against Ouray.
Pivotal games await the Jays in their final four regular season contests, including a Tuesday meeting with Montezuma-Cortez before a big league encounter with Ridgway on Saturday.
A fast start by the visiting Trojans kept the Bluejays from making a serious bid for an upset on their home floor on Saturday afternoon.
Ouray outscored the hosts 20-5 in the opening quarter and never looked back, as the visitors kept their bid to qualify for the 1A state postseason alive.
Nine points from James Potts and five from Michael Krupa led the way for the Jays (0-19, 0-9 SJBL), who have three contests remaining in the regular season, including a home date with Ridgway on Saturday afternoon.
