It's been a turbulent season for the Yuma High School girls' basketball team.
Perhaps the Outlaws will be getting back into shape as the postseason begins.
“I think we're moving in the right direction,” head coach Jeremy Robinson said. “We're getting our confidence back. It's always nice to win.”
The Outlaws started the season 9-1 and rose to second place in the Class 3A CHSAA Seed and Selection Index. But then they suffered seven straight losses, mostly to top-tier competition, while being plagued by injuries and illness.
They finished the regular season with two wins last week and headed into the postseason with an 11-8 record and seventh place in the 3A CHSAA Seed and Selection Index.
Yuma is the top seed in the awkwardly named Confluence Metro Longs Peak District and advanced to the semifinals with a walkover at Manual High School on Friday. The Outlaws will play the winner of this Tuesday's district game between No. 4 seed Prospect Ridge Academy and No. 5 seed Manual at 3 p.m.
The Outlaws defeated Manual 50-18 in the season opener on Dec. 1, but have not faced PGA this week, where they were expected to win in Tuesday's game. The PGA entered the postseason with a record of 6 wins and 13 losses.
On the other side of the bracket is second-seeded St. Mary's Academy, which will face the winner of Tuesday's district game between third-seeded Forge Christian and sixth-seeded Stargate. Besides Yuma, SMA is the only other team in the area. They finished in the top 16 of the 3A Index and entered this week in 14th place with a record of 11 wins and 8 losses. Forge Christian was 26th, PGA was 31st, Manual was 38th and Stargate was 49th.
If Yuma can win the district championship, it will be able to play in the host region next week, but if it doesn't win, it will likely travel.
The Outlaws have the strongest schedule in 3A, but Robinson wondered if that was too much of a burden.
“I don't know which is better: taking a practical test or building confidence,” he says. “This is a good district for us, the way we've played at times this season. We've got to shoot the ball better.”
Yuma ended the regular season with a 56-34 victory over Byers last Friday.
The Outlaws jumped out to a 14-3 lead. The team cooled off a bit as Byers got within five points, 21-16, but the Outlaws led 25-17 at halftime.
Yuma went on a 14-0 run to take a 39-17 lead into the third quarter. The Outlaws continued to run comfortably in front of Byers the rest of the way.
“I thought they were better against Byers,” Robinson said. “The start of the third quarter was great.”
The Outlaws shot a little better at 34%, but were definitely well below the 3-point line, going 5-of-8 (63%). They also did well on the boards with 34 rebounds.
Cadice Robinson had 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals, Jade Langwitz had 8 points and 4 rebounds, Alina Moran had 7 points and 3 rebounds, Berkley Neiswonger had 7 points, Taryn Sheffield had 6 points and 4 rebounds. Ashley Ibanez had five points and six rebounds. Rebounding: Aubrey Black had 5 points, Jaylin Mekelberg had 4 points and 6 rebounds, Carolina Ross had 4 points and 2 rebounds, Bailey Nicewonger had 3 rebounds, and Emma Rayle had 2 assists.
The Outlaws snapped a losing streak with a 43-38 win over Caliche early last week. They led by 5 points at halftime, but expanded their lead to 14 points in the third quarter. But while they were never able to pull away from the Buffaloes, they held off enough to put the outcome in doubt.
Yuma made just 1-of-14 from beyond the 3-point arc, but had 19 steals.
Berkeley Neiswonger had 12 points and 2 rebounds, Robinson had 9 points and 6 rebounds, Reil had 5 points and 3 assists, Moran had 5 points and 6 rebounds, Mekelburg had 4 points, Lungwitz had 4 points, Ross had 2 points and 2 assists. Bailey Neiswonger had two points and two assists, Ibanez had five rebounds and five steals, and Black had four steals.
“I've been happy with my bench all season, but I'm even more appreciative of it now,” Robinson said.
Maybe that will help in the postseason.
