Heading into a district tournament pigtail game, the Manitou Springs girls basketball team knew what was at stake. The Mustangs have been teetering on the edge of the Class 3A playoff field for a few weeks, and a loss to La Junta would’ve knocked them out of the Tri-Peaks district tournament — and likely out of the postseason altogether.
So the team banded together and played its best game of the year. The Mustangs came away with 57-51 win over the Tigers on Feb. 19, ensuring three more games. That can help boost their RPI and keep them in the state tournament field.
“We had one of the best practices I can remember the day before,” coach Jessie Nunley said. “We had the conversation of what do we do when something doesn’t go our way and how do we take it from here so we can change the course of our team.”
Offensively, the Mustangs (9-12 overall) rode the hot hand of senior Ashlyn Thomson, who led the team with 18 points. Junior Sami Benge-Kulzer and sophomore McKesson Rhodes each had 14 and Benge-Kulzer came up with the biggest shot of the game, knocking down a later 3-pointer with the team up by just one point.
But she wouldn’t have been in that position if not for the brand of team basketball that the Mustangs knew they had to play.
“We were all really set on playing as a team and playing as a family,” junior Kaleena Jones said. “That’s been our motto all season: Play for each other instead of ourselves.”
That mentality carried over to the next round, where the Mustangs battled against a good St. Mary’s team. Although they lost 54-45, it was a great effort and they were within three points with five minutes remaining.
Lexi Vigil led Manitou with 14 points and Benge-Kulzer added 13.
The Mustangs will head to Florence on Friday and Saturday for their final two district tournament games. They can finish as high as fifth in the tournament.
They play Buena Vista at 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25, with their final game either 11 a.m. or 1 p.m. on Saturday.”