Meeker aims for first

MEEKER — After a Northwest League loss to Hayden and a league win against Rangely, the Lady Cowboy basketball team could finish the regular season in a three-way tie for first place, with a win in Paonia this Friday.
“We lost by three to Hayden when they hit a three-pointer with 12 seconds left in the game,” head coach Hallie Blunt said of the game in Hayden last Friday. “We had a chance with six seconds but we didn’t make it happen.”
Meeker fell behind the Tigers 14-8 after the first quarter and Meeker only scored five in the second quarter to trail 13-24 at halftime.
“We struggled in the first have, playing good defense but we couldn’t make a basket,” Blunt said. “We regrouped in the second half.”
Meeker outscored the Tigers in the second half but it was not enough to overcome the first half deficit.
Senior Janae Kindall led all scorers with 18 points, Marki Cook added 13 and Sydney Cook also finished in double figures with 10. Stacey Fitzgibbons added four and Kelsey Kindall two.
Blunt said her team “built on” its second half play against the Tigers when they played the Rangely Panthers the following day.
“We built on the confidence from the night before,” Blunt said of the game against county rival Rangely.
The game against the Panthers started slow, with the score tied at two after the first five minutes of play. Meeker led 11-7 after the first quarter and 23-18 after the second. Meeker broke away in the third quarter scoring 15 points and holding Rangely to only eight, before putting the game away with 16 points in the final period.
“We had an outstanding second half,” Blunt said. “Defensively we did a great job. We got good minutes from a lot of kids and our starters set a great tempo.”
Meeker, currently 6-1 in league play and 14-4 overall, can create a three-way tie for first place with a win in Paonia against the Eagles in the final game of the regular season Friday. The Eagles are currently undefeated in league play, having beaten the Tigers earlier in the season.
“It has all the makings of a great ball game,” Blunt said.