Ladies fall short of state

MEEKER I The lady Cowboys finished out their season with a loss to Del Norte in the 2A girls’ regional basketball tournament Friday, March 2, in Durango, Colo. The lady Cowboys ended their season with 15 wins and six losses. Second seed Meeker met up with the third seed Tigers to determine who would qualify for the sweet 16 portion of the state tournament.
The Tigers scored first. Meeker sophomore Taylor Neilson answered with a bucket and junior Katie Dinwiddie hit another. Del Norte tied up the game until Neilson cashed in a three-pointer. The quarter swung back and forth until the Tigers took a 9-12 lead as the buzzer sounded.
Early in the second quarter, junior Kaysyn Chintala hit two free throws and sophomore Aly Ridings sunk another to tie up the score. Senior Aubrey Walsh dished in two buckets and Neilson added another to lead 18-16 midway through the period. The Tigers then hit a string of buckets and Meeker answered to keep their one-point lead, 26-25. With seconds left on the clock, Del Norte banked in a three at the buzzer to lead by two going into halftime.
Senior Kathryn Doll, Walsh and Chintala fired up seven points to put Meeker in the lead before a minute ran off the clock in the third period. Del Norte answered with a few buckets of their own. Then Neilson, Ridings and freshman Sydney Hughes added six more points to the board to tie the game 37-37. Del Norte hit a quick two to lead 37-39 going into the fourth. The Tigers jumped out with a six-point lead until Chintala hit a bucket and dished in the foul shot to close the gap 40-43. That was as close as the Meeker would come.
Chintala sank five more foul shots and sophomore Piper Haney hit another for the only scoring the Lady Cowboys would see in rest of the fourth. Both teams were in the bonus midway through the quarter and that kept the Tigers alive as they were 20 for 28 from the free throw line for the game while Meeker was 15 for 29 on the night. Meeker lost the game 46-63.
“This was an extremely rewarding opportunity to be a part of this team,” commented head coach Greg Chintala, “and I am proud of how the girls played this season.”
Scoring for the lady Cowboys, Neilson led with 17, Chintala dished in 12, Walsh cashed in six, Ridings had four, Haney tossed in three, Dinwiddie dropped a bucket and Doll and Hughes each scored a point.