BMS girls split home games against Steamboat Springs

MEEKER I The Barone Middle School girls’ basketball teams split home games over the weekend, hosting Steamboat Springs Saturday morning for seventh and eighth grade A and B games.
The seventh grade B team started things off with a tight game, showing improvement on both ends of the court. They played hard for 32 minutes to get a victory. The A team fell short against the Sailors but saw great play from Sierra Williams, Taylor Dodds and Avery Watt. The girls, coached by Tom Knowles, will head back to practice knowing what needs work and continuing to focus on the positives.
The eighth graders started their games with the A team and the game was a tight battle. The Sailors got off to a 5-0 start behind a three point shot by their young point guard but tenacious defense by Halle Ahrens, stealing the ball and finishing her layups, got Meeker right back in the game. Ahrens finished the game with 18. Defense was the key for Meeker and team effort lead to several scoring opportunities. Megan Smith, Anna Walsh and Kinzie Burke played solid post defense and created scoring chances on the offensive end. Walsh added four points to the team’s total with a drop step and finish that looks to be her trademark move going forward. Maggie Phelan was a consistently versatile player on both ends of the floor, helping the team come back after the Cowboys got down 10 points going into the fourth quarter but rallied back with a late run making the final score 24-30. The B team matched the defensive pressure behind the tremendous speed of Madison Russell and cerebral play of Madeline Amack who led all scorers in the game. Steamboat managed a second half run with some long range shots but the team defense including play by Faith Goedert and Reese Pertile, helped hold off the comeback, and Meeker held on for a 16-8 win. The coaches will prepare their teams for a rematch against Craig this Saturday in Meeker.