As the game headed to the fourth quarter Tuesday and the Panthers firmly in control, senior Taylor Whited looked to pull herself from the contest to allow underclassmen some varsity minutes.
She walked toward the bench, preparing to make her curtain call when head coach Brad Wright broke the news.
“I told her, ‘You’re one point away from the school record,’” said Wright, “and she looked at me and said, ‘OK, I’m in.”
Moments later, Whited eclipsed the previous mark – 36 points from Class of 2012 standout Sydney Bayles – and then added a couple of buckets before converting a three-point play at the foul line to close her evening with 42 points in a 77-37 victory over Mancos in The Jungle.
“It’s one of the best feelings in the world,” said Whited, “I was confident – every time I shot, I felt like it was going to go in.”
The final score did not reflect the battle put up by the shorthanded Bluejays, who rallied from a double-digit deficit in the first quarter to battle right in step with their 4A foes. Mancos senior Randi Lewis banked in a 3-pointer as the first quarter horn sounded to bring the visitors within 21-15.
From there, Mancos head coach Julie Oliver’s squad continued to chip away, closing within a bucket at 28-26 midway through the second quarter. Bluejays freshman Tinsley Aspromonte put on a clinic from the midrange, scoring 16 of her team-high 25 points before halftime.
However, the Panthers reclaimed momentum in a big way, with juniors Siana Elliott and Keeley Clarke joining Whited’s scoring outburst as part of 15-0 run to end the first half with a 43-26 advantage.
Elliott controlled the paint for M-CHS, putting together a career-high 16-point performance, while Clarke made herself into a menace defensively, with quick hands in passing lanes to catalyze the M-CHS transition game.
Whited’s night opened with 10 points apiece in each of the first two quarters – an indication that something special might be in the cards.
“My team needed me to lock in,” reflected Whited after the Bluejays rallied in the first half, “and we trusted each other – I’m glad to be able to go out there with those girls.”
M-CHS (6-13, 1-7 IML) leaned on Whited’s 15 points in the third quarter to put the game out of reach, leading to the exchange with her head coach as she sat on 35 points with a quarter to play.
“The thing that impressed me the most on a night where she (Whited) scored so many points, she also had her highest assist total of the season,” reflected Wright, “and so it was a very unselfish 42 points.”
Senior Shaylynn Bia added to the scoring barrage with six points, joining Clarke’s seven tallies to complement Whited’s historic night. Lewis scored six points for Mancos while junior Caylee Moore added five.
Mancos (6-11, 5-4 SJBL) heads into their final three regular season contests with their postseason fate hanging in the balance. A home contest against Ridgway on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 11 a.m. offers the Bluejays a chance to pursue one of the teams in front of them in the CHSAA Seeding and Selection Index.
The win for M-CHS also comes at the outset of a critical stretch for the Panthers, knowing they’ll need a finishing flourish to qualify for the 4A postseason. They’ll host Dove Creek on Friday night at 5 p.m. in their final nonleague outing of the season before facing four league opponents to close out the regular season. Their contest against the Bulldogs will be available on local radio station 98.7 FM KRTZ and on krtzradio.com.
