{"id":24009,"date":"2025-01-16T11:21:52","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T18:21:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dove-creek-clinches-wins-over-mancos\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T04:46:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:46:06","slug":"dove-creek-clinches-wins-over-mancos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dove-creek-clinches-wins-over-mancos\/","title":{"rendered":"Dove Creek clinches wins over Mancos"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Mancos
Mancos junior Tyla Henry calls for her teammates.<\/span>Erika Alvero<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

MANCOS \u2013 Dove Creek and Mancos faced off at the Bluejay Fieldhouse on Tuesday night in a twin bill, with the Bulldogs securing decisive victories in both games.<\/p>\n

Dove Creek girls slide through Mancos, 55-23<\/div>\n

Dove Creek (7-3) extended its four-win streak with a strong performance against Mancos (1-8) in their Class 2A rivalry game, led by an exceptional 24-point effort from senior Ralynn Hickman. Hadley Hatfield contributed 10 points, including an 8-for-8 performance from the free-throw line.<\/p>\n

Mancos was paced by freshman Tinsley Aspromonte, who scored 10 points.<\/p>\n

The Bulldogs started the game with a dominant 17-4 lead by the end of the first quarter, thanks in large part to Hickman\u2019s 13 points in the opening period.<\/p>\n

\"Photo_12b:
Photo_12b: Dove Creek senior Ralynn Hickman brings the ball down the court near the end of Dove Creeks win against Mancos.<\/span>Erika Alvero<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The second quarter saw both teams struggle as Dove Creek faced challenges with violations and fouls, while Mancos struggled with shooting. Despite strong defense, Mancos could not prevent Dove Creek from breaking their scoreless streak when Jessica Alexander hit a jumper, followed by another basket from Hickman to get the Bulldogs\u2019 offense back on track.<\/p>\n

Dove Creek extended their lead by the end of the first half, 29-10.<\/p>\n

Taylor Hampton of Dove Creek opened the third quarter with a quick jumper, while Mancos struggled offensively, relying on free throws to score. They converted three points but went nearly six minutes without a field goal.<\/p>\n

\"Photo_05a:
Photo_05a: From left, Dove Creek junior Taylor Hampton, Mancos junior Caylee Moore, and Dove Creek junior Ambryn Huffaker struggle for the ball.<\/span>Erika Alvero<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The Bulldogs regained momentum when Hickman hit a three-pointer and followed it up with a field goal on their next possession. Aspromonte managed Mancos\u2019 first field goal of the quarter near the end, but the Bluejays couldn\u2019t close the gap.<\/p>\n

Foul trouble slowed Dove Creek\u2019s efforts to extend their lead further. As they defended against Mancos drives to the basket, the Bulldogs accumulated five team fouls midway through the quarter. At the end of the third quarter, Dove Creek held a commanding 42-16 lead.<\/p>\n

Mancos began the fourth quarter with an offensive push when Hampton fouled Destiny Kramer, who made one of her free-throw attempts. Mancos continued to struggle at the line, sinking nine free throws out of 24 attempts.<\/p>\n

Dove Creek\u2019s offense hit a brief slump as violations and turnovers hindered their scoring. They relied on solid defense to prevent Mancos from adding to their total. The Bulldogs took advantage of free-throw opportunities after Mancos committed fouls, ultimately outscoring the Bluejays 13-7 in the final period and securing a 55-23 victory.<\/p>\n

\"Photo_11b:
Photo_11b: Mancos freshman Tinsley Aspromonte and Dove Creek sophomore Kaybree Smith compete for the ball.<\/span>Erika Alvero<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

This was Dove Creek\u2019s first league game after returning from winter break, and the girls head coach, Julie Kibel, was impressed with her team\u2019s fluid passing and shooting on offense, as well as their strong man-to-man defense.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe one thing we are shooting for is our trip to the San Juan Basin League championship,\u201d said Kibel. \u201cTonight was about making a statement that we are ready and we are still going to play hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dove Creek will shift their focus to their home game on Saturday against Ridgway, then followed by a trip to Monticello on Jan. 21. They will travel to Delores on Jan. 25 before hosting Nucla on Jan. 28.<\/p>\n

Mancos will play county rival Dolores on Friday. After a trip to Bayfield on Jan. 21, they return to league play against Telluride on Jan. 25, and face Nucla again on Jan. 30.<\/p>\n

Dove Creek boys hold Mancos at arms length, 39-26<\/div>\n

Dove Creek evened their record at 5-5 after defeating Mancos (0-12) in a day-and-night contest. The Bluejays controlled the game in the first half, but the Bulldogs took charge in the second half to secure the victory.<\/p>\n

Junior Josh Kibel led the Bulldogs with 12 points, while senior Liam Hassell contributed 10 points. Spencer Eschallier led the Bluejays with 10 points.<\/p>\n

\"Photo_12b:
Photo_12b: Blue Jays junior Miguel Derizotes dribbles the ball down the court.<\/span>Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Eschallier started the game strong for the Bluejays with a 3-pointer, putting them on the board first. Dove Creek\u2019s Sheldon Gardener quickly responded with a field goal, and the game continued in a back-and-forth fashion for the next few minutes. Mancos\u2019 Miguel Derizotis then scored, followed by another field goal from Eschallier on the next possession, giving the Bluejays a four-point lead at the end of the first quarter, 11-6.<\/p>\n

Mancos extended their lead by five point at the beginning of the second quarter, making a 5-0 run, before Dove Creek\u2019s Nicholas Aragon shot a three and Trevor Ivie added another basket to help the Bulldogs lessen the lead going into halftime, 16-11.<\/p>\n

Kibel and Hassell, who had been noticeably absent in the first half, returned to the game in the second half and played a key role in leading the Bulldogs charge.<\/p>\n

\"Bulldogs
Bulldogs junior Trevan Ivie looks for an open pass, closely guarded byBlue Jays sophomore James Potts, senior Spencer Eschallier, and sophomoreMichael Krupa.<\/span>Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Hassell was fouled within the first minute of the third quarter and made his first two free throws. Aragon added another two points, and Kibel drove to the basket, giving the Bulldogs their first lead since the first quarter, 17-15, as they found their rhythm.<\/p>\n

Dove Creek\u2019s strong defense prevented Mancos from driving into the paint for much of the quarter, stifling the Bluejays\u2019 scoring attempts. Meanwhile, Hassell and Kibel\u2019s standout offensive plays helped the Bulldogs secure a slight 24-20 lead at the end of the third quarter.<\/p>\n

Hassell was fouled again at the start of the final period, going two-for-two at the line to kick start the team\u2019s lengthening lead with help from Kibel, Gardener, and Ivie to outscore Mancos 15-6, and take the victory, 39-26.<\/p>\n

\"Mancos
Mancos senior Seth Oakes protects the ball from Dove Creek sophomore Clayton Smith and junior Trevan Ivie.<\/span>Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Dove Creek boys\u2019 head coach, Teresa Martin, said her team\u2019s heart and effort in their matchup against Mancos and hopes that it will continue to propel them forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so proud of those guys (Hassell and Kibel). They came out that second half and they could have given up, but they played a hard-fought game,\u201d Martin said. \u201cThis team has great leadership and a great atmosphere. I just hope that continues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dove Creek will shift their focus to their home game on Saturday against Ridgway followed by a trip to Monticello on Jan. 21. They will travel to Dolores on Jan. 25 before hosting Nucla on Jan. 28 then head to Durango on Jan. 30.<\/p>\n

Mancos will travel to face their county rival Dolores on Friday. After a trip to Bayfield on Jan. 21, they return to league play against Telluride on Jan. 25 and face Nucla again on Jan. 30.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hickman paces Bulldogs win with 24 points<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24010,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-24009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24009"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24009\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78358,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24009\/revisions\/78358"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24009"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=24009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}