Photo by Bryan Oller
Ashlyn Thomson fights a Buena Vista player for the rebound during their Feb. 8 game.
Getting into a tournament atmosphere might be exactly what the Manitou Springs girls basketball team needs.
After its win over Buena Vista on senior night, the Mustangs took on The Classical Academy and lost 64-28 on Feb. 10. It was a non-league game against a Class 4A team, so it certainly wasn’t detrimental to the Mustangs’ season.
But as they head into the Tri-Peaks District tournament, they know that they need a sense of urgency moving forward.
“It’s important that we set the tone for how we need to play at districts,” sophomore McKesson Rhodes said. “We have to play as a team.”
The Mustangs (8-10 overall, 4-7 Tri-Peaks) finished regular season play on Wednesday, Feb. 16, against Woodland Park. Results were not available at press time.
The team is expected to begin district play on Saturday, Feb. 19, but the opponent and location had yet to be determined. While trying to keep the focus on each upcoming game, the Mustangs can’t help but think about what the tournament means in terms of preparing for the state tournament.
“There has been a lot of excitement and investment for what districts and postseason can mean for our team,” coach Jessie Nunley said. “I’d like to keep that momentum going forward.”
Manitou will lean heavily on senior leadership — Lexi Vigil and Abby Parker are the two on the roster that have played through districts and understand the atmosphere. The district tournament was not played last year due to COVID-19.
That just places much more emphasis on the roles that Vigil and Parker will play and how they can help get the best out of other players such as Rhodes, Bella Coscetti and Ashlyn Thomson.
“That’s the best hope,” Nunley said. “That’s been our intention this week. That’s absolutely our goal and focus.”
Should the Mustangs make their way through the pigtail games, they’ll head to Florence High School for the remainder of the district tournament.