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Soroco’s girls basketball offense stumbles against Mead

Soroco High School sophomore Kayedence Bruner pushes up the court despite pressure from a Mead player during a first-round game of the Steamboat Shootout on Thursday, Dec. 12.
Shelby Reardon

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — The Soroco High School girls basketball team went into the second quarter against Mead with a 10-7 lead, but in the second, shots would not fall.

Missed chances, mixed with turnovers and a surging Mead team resulted in a 21-18 deficit at the half. The Ram’s woes continued throughout the final 16 minutes, allowing Mead to pull away to a 38-32 win in a first-round game of the Steamboat Shootout on Thursday, Dec. 12, at Steamboat Springs High School.

“Our expectations every time we step on the floor, we want to win,” said Soroco head coach David Bruner said “We think we have the opportunity, and we had an opportunity tonight, no matter how big the school is. We’re young, so we made some young mistakes.”



After a fairly steady first quarter, the Soroco offense did very little. Pressure at half court prevented the Rams offense from entering their side of the room half of the time.

“They were trapping,” Bruner said. “It’s a lot of young kids. We’ve just got to move the ball a little better and get our spacing better.



When the girls in maroon broke through and started running their offense, they were too quick to shoot. Rebounds and wide-open shots were not utilized as they, too, were rushed.

Bruner said the Rams have always been a fast-paced team, so he was okay with the quick releases from the girls, but he wasn’t happy with the shooting percentage on the night.

Soroco High School sophomore Kayedence Bruner draws contact from a Mead player while putting up a shot during a first-round game of the Steamboat Shootout on Thursday, Dec. 12.
Shelby Reardon

“We shoot the ball a lot, that’s how we’ve won a lot the last 10 years. That’s what we’ll continue to do,” Bruner said. “I think a lot of that is just our younger kids getting in the flow of the game. It’s a little bit faster. They’re not used to playing that speed.”

With that, the Rams put up just four points in the third quarter while the Mavericks added 11.

Soroco was never out of it though, which added to the frustration on offense. If just two baskets went in, they’d regain the lead. A 3-pointer from sophomore Kayedence Bruner put the Rams within three, 33-30, with a minute and nine seconds left to play, but that was as close as they’d get.

In the shootout consolation bracket, Soroco will play at 4:45 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13, against the loser of the Steamboat Springs-Northridge game, which ended after press time.

Mead 38, Soroco 32
M 7  14 4 13 – 38
S 10  8 4 10 – 32
S: Kayedence Bruner 12, Peyton Parker 8, Makinley Parker 6, Shelby Geiger 3, Jadyn Ellis 2. M: Maddox Boston 10, Savannah Griebling 8.
FT: M, 7-12. S, 6-11.

Soroco girls basketball

  • Dec. 5-7: Soroco at Meeker Shootout: 4th, W vs. Lotus 44-26, L vs. Moffat County 60-35, L vs. Meeker 63-33
  • Dec. 12-14: Steamboat Shootout, L vs Mead, 38-32, W vs. Steamboat Springs 44-34, W vs. Eagle Valley 49-33
  • Dec. 16: Soroco at Battle Mountain, W 44-28
  • Dec. 21: Caprock at Soroco, W 63-18
  • Jan. 4: South Park at Soroco, W 70-19
  • Jan. 11: Soroco at West Grand, W 55-37
  • Jan. 17: Soroco at DeBeque, L 56-49
  • Jan. 24: Hayden at Soroco, W 65-43
  • Jan. 25: Soroco at North Park, W 48-35
  • Jan. 31: Rangely at Soroco, W 38-32
  • Feb. 8: Soroco at Paonia, W 43-25
  • Feb. 11: Soroco at Hotchkiss, L 43-39
  • Feb. 13: Soroco at Meeker, L 58-54
  • Feb. 14: Plateau Valley at Soroco, L 50-46
  • Feb. 21: Vail Christian at Soroco, W 57-48
  • Feb. 25: Rangely at Soroco, W 55-45

To reach Shelby Reardon, call 970-871-4253, email sreardon@SteamboatPilot.com or follow her on Twitter @ByShelbyReardon.


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