Meeker sixth-graders win basketball tournament

MEEKER I The sixth- and eighth-grade girls’ basketball teams from Meeker competed in the annual Glenwood Springs basketball tournament Saturday and Sunday. The sixth-graders were crowned champions. The road to the championship was a four-game battle against bigger schools and tough competition.
The Meeker team began their tournament with a rematch against Craig after beating them the week before in Meeker. The Moffat County girls came out ready to play in the Saturday morning game. Meeker was a little tight early on but their tough defense kept it close until the offense got going. Offense and defense worked together to get a big win to start their tournament.
The next game was against Olathe and the Meeker girls came out with confidence and got great contributions from the entire team to give them the number two seed in the bracketed part of the tournament on Sunday. Meeker beat Montrose to advance into the finals against a very good Grand Junction team. The girls showed incredible composure and once again turned defense into offense. The game was a battle throughout, and was tied with 38 seconds remaining. Meeker didn’t let the pressure get to them and came away with the win by three points for the championship.
The eighth-grade girls began their tournament with a big win over Olathe. The game was hard fought and required great play from everyone as foul trouble was a factor. The Meeker press forced several turnovers and proved to be too much for the Pirates at the end of the game. This put Meeker in the next round against Carbondale. The girls came out to an early lead, but accurate shooting by the Rams left Meeker behind at halftime. The Meeker team did not panic and came back to take the lead with eight seconds remaining. With just 1.8 seconds left on the clock, a Carbondale player stepped to the line to shoot a free throw. With her team down by one point, the Carbondale player sank both shots for the win. This gave Meeker the number three seed in Sunday’s seven-team bracket and matched the eighth-graders up against Carbondale again.
The game was similar; both teams played extremely hard and once again the game came down to the last seconds. Meeker had a chance to win with four free throws in the last 30 seconds, but the ball was in and out for the young lady Cowboys. The girls once again showed tremendous teamwork and learned a lot in the close games. They proved they are and will be a team to reckon with as they look forward to their high school basketball careers.