Meeker girls earn split

MEEKER I After a Northwest League loss to the Hayden Tigers on their home court last Friday, the Lady Cowboys basketball team traveled to Vail and defeated Vail Christian last Saturday.
“There were six minutes where we played the kind of ball we needed, but it was too late,” coach Hallie Blunt said of the 44-31 loss to the Tigers. “We came out nervous and they did a good job of applying pressure.”
Turnovers continue to plague the Lady Cowboys and the Tigers forced several in the first quarter.
“We worked on the press break all week against the boys, but we still turned the ball over at least 10 times in the first quarter,” Blunt said.
Hayden led 16-4 after the first quarter and 20-10 at halftime. Meeker fell behind by as much as 19, halfway through the fourth quarter and pulled within eight before the Tigers broke the game open for the win.
“I thought the girls did a great job of hanging in the game,” Blunt said. “I think they realized they can play with them and that will help if we meet them again down the road.”
Meeker turned things around against Vail Christian, taking a 14-6 lead after the first quarter as junior Becca de Vergie scored eight and senior Stacey Fitzgibbons added six, including a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
“We came out shooting and did a lot better controlling the ball,” Blunt said. “If we can cut down our turnovers we can have some success.”
Meeker led 30-16 at halftime and 45-26 going into the final quarter, when the Lady Cowboys scored 19 more points to win 64-39.
Fitzgibbons led all scorers with 26 points and is averaging more than 15 points per game. De Vergie added 18 and freshman Kaysyn Chintala hit three 3-pointers and two free throws to finish in double digits with 11. Senior Timbre Shriver added seven and Sage Chapin scored two.