Teams enter the Pirates' 'Cove' at their own respective risks.
Which go up notably when Pagosa Springs actually takes a rare loss.
Entering a non-league, Valentine's Day test Tuesday night at home against Ignacio, PSHS looked to right its ship after falling by three to La Jara Centauri last Saturday in the 3A Intermountain's regular-season championship. The Pirates did so at the Bobcats' expense, 46-24.
"We had a pretty darn good first half," said IHS head coach Shane Seibel, noting his crew trailed by just five points at intermission. "Then they went on a run and opening things up and got us into foul trouble."
Junior Avionne Gomez paced the outsiders with 11 points as Ignacio (11-6, 10-1 2A/1A San Juan Basin) looked to follow up last weekend's Friday/Saturday sweep of league rivals Telluride and Ridgway, respectively.
The 'Cats also got 7-of-7 free-throw shooting and nine total points from freshman Morgan Herrera, a three-pointer from freshman Larissa Gallegos, and a free throw from sophomore Payton Lyon.
"Tough night shooting for us," Seibel said.
But even after going scoreless in the second quarter, usually a death sentence for Pagosa foes, IHS trailed only 16-11 through at halftime. But the #7-ranked (CHSAANow.com Class 3A poll, 2/13) Pirates improved to 15-3 overall (still 8-2 in the IML) after effectively running away via a 19-5 third-quarter showing.
Junior Morgan Lewis led all players with her 15 points, with scoreboard support stemming primarily from freshman Hailey Griego (8 points), junior Kena Murphy (8) and freshman Taylor Lewis (6).
Ignacio was to host Mancos (4-12, 2-9 SJBL) next on Thursday evening, then travel to Ouray (13-4, 7-2) Saturday to conclude regular-season league play.
