{"id":35816,"date":"2023-02-11T23:19:20","date_gmt":"2023-02-12T06:19:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/smiths-energy-lifts-bears-on-senior-night\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:27:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:27:23","slug":"smiths-energy-lifts-bears-on-senior-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/smiths-energy-lifts-bears-on-senior-night\/","title":{"rendered":"Smith\u2019s energy lifts Bears on Senior Night"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dolores
Dolores sophomore Emma Kemp takes a steal down the floor in a game against Telluride at DHS. Ben Bradley\/Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no mystery surrounding when the Dolores girls basketball are having fun on the court.<\/p>\n

Their expressions speak volumes.<\/p>\n

Whether exuberantly celebrating a teammate\u2019s basket, or laughing off a gaffe on the court, the Bears relish the opportunity to share their home court with one another.<\/p>\n

The group relished that privilege for the final time of 2022-23, honoring the outgoing seniors with a win on Parent and Senior Night in the DHS Fieldhouse, topping Telluride 41-24.<\/p>\n

In a year full of growth, Dolores (4-13, 2-4 2A\/1A SJBL) put together one of their most comprehensive outings of the seasons in front of a packed house.<\/p>\n

\"Dolores
Dolores senior Chandler Smith brings the ball up the court against pressure from Telluride\u2019s Summer Armstrong in a game at DHS.Ben Bradley\/Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Dolores
Dolores freshman Taylor Hampton drives to the rim in a game against Telluride at DHS.Ben Bradley\/Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"DHS
DHS head coach Tiffany Hill and the Bears bench watches action on the floor in a home game against Telluride.Ben Bradley\/Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Dolores
Dolores junior Mikayla Puett reads her Senior Night speech honoring DHS senior Chandler Smith (left) while standing next to head coach Tiffany Hill.Ben Bradley\/Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Leading by three at halftime against a vastly improved Telluride (0-16, 0-6 2A\/1A SJBL) squad, the home-standing Bears erupted in the third quarter, scoring 21 points on 10 field goals to blow the game wide open.<\/p>\n

Fittingly, the Bears passed the torch from senior dynamo Chandler Smith \u2013 whose 10 points co-led the way for the Bears \u2013 to freshman Taylor Hampton, who controlled play in the paint while also reaching double figures.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of players stepped up in the second half,\u201d said Smith, \u201cand we brought a different level of intensity. Coach Hill put in lots of great combinations that were really effective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the Bears capitalized on high-energy plays, generated a bushel of steals, and raced off for transition buckets. Seven different Bears scored in their season-high point output \u2013 as the laughter and excitement melded with bittersweet tears as the gravity of the night set in.<\/p>\n

Smith, a longtime captain for both the basketball and volleyball programs, received an emotional send-off speech from junior Mikayla Puett during the senior recognition following the win.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a bond that I\u2019ll take with me for the rest of my life, said Smith of her relationship with Puett. \u201cIt\u2019s been more than friendship \u2013 it\u2019s family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith served as a model of consistency for a Bears program looking for on-floor guidance in tough situations \u2013 the senior provided that energy and more with a singular goal in mind \u2013\u201cKeep a smile on my face,\u201d she said, \u201ctrying to keep everyone happy and upbeat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s such a hard worker, and brings that intensity to every single play,\u201d said head coach Tiffany Hill, \u201cand it\u2019s a level of mental toughness that the rest of the team looks up to \u2013 that\u2019s what makes her such a tremendous leader.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the whole squad, Hill has seen a dramatic shift in the way has taken Smith\u2019s leadership and carried it over to game action. \u201cWe\u2019re playing more as a unit now,\u201d said Hill. \u201cThe girls are communicating on a whole different level than where we began the season, which allows us to run our offense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Case in point, the Bears executed a number of sharp offensive sequences in the second half that led to buckets for Puett and Hampton in the lane. Junior Ashlyn Mikkelson poured in seven points during the third quarter ambush, while classmates Janae Boyd and Brooklyn Lee padded the Bears\u2019 lead and help Dolores knock off Telluride for the second time this season.<\/p>\n

Telluride, which was also enjoying one of their best scoring efforts of the season, received six points from sophomore Tjarn Lyons and five from senior Amy Guerrero.<\/p>\n

It hasn\u2019t always been easy \u2013 part of the ups and downs of playing a rigorous league schedule \u2013 but the payoff has the Bears angling toward a bright future. More important than wins and losses, Smith prioritizes one thing above it all.<\/p>\n

\u201cSportsmanship \u2013 that\u2019s how I want to be remembered,\u201d she added, \u201cand leaving a positive legacy for how everyone views Dolores basketball, from my teammates to the whole community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bears take to the road for the remainder of the regular season, facing league-leading Dove Creek on Saturday, Feb. 11 before wrapping up the regular season in Mancos on Friday, Feb. 17. Both of their games will be available for fans on local radio station 98.7 FM KRTZ and on krtzradio.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dolores overpowers Telluride for season sweep<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35817,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[600,38,29,346],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-35816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-basketball","tag-dolores-high-school","tag-newsletter","tag-sports"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35816","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=35816"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35816\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83129,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35816\/revisions\/83129"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35816"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=35816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}