Steamboat Today: Soroco girls fall in West Grand championship

Archive for Sunday, December 7, 2008

By Joel Reichenberger Sunday, December 7, 2008

7:30 p.m. Dec. 2 at Moffat County JV
Dec. 5, Soroco 65, Clear Creek 24 at West Grand Tournament; (2-0)
Dec. 6, West Grand 47, Soroco 27 at West Grand Tournament; (2-1)
Dec. 9, Soroco 58, Steamboat JV 38; (3-1)
Dec. 12, Hayden 73, Soroco 42; (3-2)
Dec. 13, Soroco 51, Vail Christian 37; (4-2)
Dec. 20 North Park 53, Soroco 46; (4-3)
Jan. 10, Rangely 63, Soroco 36; (4-4)
Jan. 15, Soroco 36, Moffat County J.V. 31; (5-4)
Jan. 16, North Park 49, Soroco 40; (5-5)
Jan. 23, Soroco 60, De Beque 29; (6-5)
Jan. 24, Meeker 59, Soroco 39;(6-6)
Jan. 30, Plateau 60, Soroco 49;(6-7)
Feb. 6, West Grand 56, Soroco 50;(6-8)
Feb. 7, Paonia 64, Soroco 51;(6-9)
Feb. 13, Hayden 55, Soroco 39;(6-10)
Feb. 14, Soroco 58, Vail Christian 37;(7-10)
Feb. 21 district play at home sites
Feb. 27-28 districts at Meeker

Steamboat Springs — The numbers were right for the Soroco High School girls basketball team Friday in a rout of Clear Creek.

But nothing seemed to add up Saturday, as the Rams fell to West Grand in the championship game of the tournament in Kremmling. Soroco won, 65-24, on Friday but lost, 47-27, on Saturday.

In the first game, the Rams shot 39 percent, sinking 27 of their 69 attempts. Saturday, they only could manage 16 percent from the field.

"We've been trying to get up and down the floor really quick, and that's something new for a lot of the girls," Rams coach David Bruner said. "When we get better at shooting, we'll be a pretty decent team. We're just inconsistent now."

Senior Sarajane Rossi led the way in Friday's offensive outburst, scoring 26 points. Foul trouble grounded her against West Grand, and she only played about 15 minutes, sitting out the entire second quarter and much of the second half.

Freshman Madison George contributed 15 points Friday. Her team-best eight points Saturday helped the Rams claw within six points in the third quarter, but the team couldn't hang on, and West Grand again stretched the lead.

Still, Bruner said Soroco stuck with its sped-up approach, and he's optimistic heading into a busy week. The Rams play the Steamboat Springs junior varsity squad Tuesday, then Hayden on Friday.

"The kids are working hard, but we're playing a lot of young ones, so we're going to be inconsistent for awhile," he said. "I'm pleased with how they're getting up and down the court. My philosophy is always the more balls you put up, the more chances you have to score. They're going to miss some, but the more they shoot, the better they'll get."