The combined middle school girls basketball team, made of Nucla and Norwood girls, was not only undefeated this season, but they won the San Juan Basin League championship game on Saturday, Feb. 18, in the Nucla High School gym.
The girls — Reese Elwood, Shay Snyder, Maria Camacho, Holli Johnson, Maggie Andrews, Josey Tedder, Lantry Galley, Sidney Westfall, Sydney Tomlinson and Brylea Butler — are eighth graders, and most all of them have been playing together since the fourth or fifth grade.
Because they walked into the championship weekend as the No. 1 seed, they had the privilege of hosting the day’s tournament.
With a fairly big crowd in the stands of the Nucla gym, the girls played at 9 a.m. first, against Dove Creek. The final score was 26-2.
“We didn’t pressure them very much. We saved our girls for the championship,” said head coach Stan Galley in an interview on Sunday.
Afterward, Mancos and Dolores played each other, in a closer game, with Mancos winning 31-26.
Coach said the Mancos team played “fairly decently” and also had some good sized girls on the court. The combined Nucla-Norwood team had previously beat them though all three times in their undefeated season, at home and away.
For the final game, the girls then bested the Mancos team 55-19, afterward each receiving a medal to commemorate the experience.
Galley said the girls play well together.
“They’ve played so much together,” Galley said. “They know where each other are going to be. We’ve kind of pushed at them to be unselfish and not worry about who is scoring the most points. They’ve bought into that the last few years,” he said.
Galley, who is assisted by his wife on the court, has the been coaching the girls for the last five years. The husband and wife team also have a daughter, their oldest child, on the team.
With the season over, the coaches and the girls will take a bit of break, but they’re not done yet. They have plans for AAU tournament play this spring. While the girls won’t practice four days a week like they have since November, they will be meeting up to practice a few times weekly. The AAU tournaments start in March, and Galley said there are about four he’d like to get them into — for the experience and to keep playing, but to also face tougher competition on the court.
Coach said at the same time, some of the girls will be competing in track and field events, and many show 4-H animals too. The girls seem to be competitive in more than just basketball.
After five years of working with the eighth graders, coach said it’s been good experience.
“Misty and I are proud are of the girls, and they’re a good bunch of girls,” he said. “They try hard and they’re very coachable. … We enjoy coaching them, and wouldn’t trade any of them for anything.”
