Lady Cowboys win pair, take fifth in Cowboy Shootout

MEEKER I New girls’ basketball coach Neil Joy did not win his first game but he said it was “the most exciting.” The Lady Cowboys lost in the first round but won their next two games and finished fifth in the annual White River Electric Cowboy Shootout.
Meeker lost to the 3A Cedaredge Bruins 46-48, which put them in the consolation bracket, where they soundly defeated Mancos 41-25 before defeating Little Snake River 47-45 in overtime.
“I was a little nervous, based on our summer games and practice but I was very pleased with how things turned out,” Joy said.
Meeker took an early 12-9 lead over the Bruins, with senior Becca de Vergie and freshman Aly Ridings each scoring four points. Ridings scored half of her 12 points in the second quarter. Although the Lady Cowboys were outscored in the second stanza, they held on to a one point lead at halftime.
The Bruins came out big in the third, hitting two three-pointers and holding Meeker to only four points to take a six-point lead into the final eight minutes.
Senior Laura Glass played strong under the basket, pulling down offensive rebounds and putting them back up for points. Glass scored all of her eight points in the final quarter and de Vergie added seven more but it was still too little.
“We hung in there well with a 3A team,” Joy said. “It was hands down, the most exciting game I’ve coached. We had the boys’ team and students behind us, the crowd noise was loud, it was a lot of fun.
After a slow start against Mancos and a 6-5 first-quarter lead, Meeker came together and took control in the second quarter. Becca de Vergie scored five of her team high 13 points in the second quarter, while classmate Elissa McLaughlin added four, freshman Taylor Neilson three and Ridings made two free throws to take the team into a 20-11 lead at halftime.
Five more Lady Cowboys scored in the third quarter, including points from juniors Aubrey Walsh and Kathryn Doll and sophomore Kaysyn Chintala. Meeker matched Maoncos’ eight points in the final quarter.
“The girls showed a lot of toughness. We were able to get a substantial win over Mancos,” Joy said. “It was the best defense they have played, including this summer.”
Meeker played Snake River in the final game of the tourney and the Lady Cowboys needed extra time to win their final game of the tourney.
“We started with a lead against Snake River but lost our heads, turned the ball over and fouled to let them back in,” Joy said. “In overtime, we cleaned it up, no silly mistakes or fouls, we got a bit of a lead and hung on to it.”
de Vergie led the team with 34 points in the tournament, Ridings had 18, Doll scored 16, Glass 14, Kaylyn Edwards had 12 and Neilson 10. Kaysyn Chintala finished with nine, Walsh five, Jordan Brown finished with two and Denee Chintala had one.
Meeker’s JV team won all three of its games and the C-team played and lost three.
“It was a great tournament and I think the teams were evenly matched,” Joy said.
Meeker will not play again until Dec. 17, when they travel to south-central Colorado to play Sangre de Cristo and Center.