{"id":41883,"date":"2022-03-04T00:24:37","date_gmt":"2022-03-04T07:24:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/kibel-buffington-lead-dove-creek-basketball-family\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:03:59","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:03:59","slug":"kibel-buffington-lead-dove-creek-basketball-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/kibel-buffington-lead-dove-creek-basketball-family\/","title":{"rendered":"Kibel, Buffington lead Dove Creek basketball family"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dove
Dove Creek girls basketball team celebrates its District 1 championship at Olathe High School after defeating North Park, 66-38. The Bulldogs advanced to the Region 1 championship game with the victory.<\/span>Courtesy photo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

A soft current of up-tempo pop music creates the backdrop for a late-season Dove Creek girls\u2019 basketball practice.<\/p>\n

Normally, four months of nonstop basketball would take its toll on a team\u2019s morale \u2013 just trying to survive to the finish line.<\/p>\n

Not so for this group of young women. Lighthearted banter and laughter spills over into a brief intrasquad scrimmage session, as a Bulldog drives right into the teeth of her own defense, only to see her shot blocked out of bounds by a waiting defender.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s as if these girls know what their teammates will do, before they even act.<\/p>\n

Which makes perfect sense \u2013 because they do.<\/p>\n

Dove Creek girls basketball has become one of the state\u2019s most feared teams \u2013 a nightmare for opposing coaches to scout for \u2013 based on their balanced attack and selfless play.<\/p>\n

The mantra of \u201cfamily\u201d chanted in the huddle break at the end of practice is literal.<\/p>\n

Seniors Shania Kibel and Tara Buffington should know \u2013 the banners that ring the Dove Creek gymnasium are full of reminders of their family trees.<\/p>\n

Shania\u2019s mother\u2019s name sits at the top of one of the all-state banners at the north end of the gym. Julie Guynes \u2013 now Kibel \u2013 helped pave the way for girls athletics at Dove Creek \u2013 making the state\u2019s highest honor roll before the three-point line was introduced. A generation later, she now coaches her daughter and an energetic band of teammates to another season of stratospheric heights, but an achievement that has become the standard bar for the program.<\/p>\n

Tara\u2019s uncle, Jonce Hatfield, is the calming assistant coach on Kibel\u2019s staff. He has guided many of the young women on this year\u2019s roster since their early playing days.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way we play \u2013 it\u2019s been instilled in us our whole lives,\u201d said Shania Kibel. \u201cIf you want to play at a high level, you\u2019d better be ready to step up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet, even with the reminders of the great teams from before their time, Kibel and Buffington recognize they\u2019re putting their own stamp on the program\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like we\u2019re finally in the place that we\u2019ve worked so hard to be in,\u201d said Kibel, \u201cand that\u2019s come from all the hard workouts in the weight room, every morning practice \u2026 it\u2019s all finally paying off.\u201d<\/p>\n

The in-practice exuberance carries over to competitions, where the Bulldogs\u2019 joie de vivre<\/em> reflects in 32 minutes of play \u2013 their celebration of teammates\u2019 successes and energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis team hasn\u2019t had to rely on one person to score,\u201d said Buffington. \u201cEveryone on this team is capable of stepping up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dove Creek\u2019s preparation for regional foe Rocky Mountain Lutheran \u2013 always thorough with Kibel and Hatfield \u2013 comes with the palpable excitement of knowing what awaits the \u2018Dogs with a victory \u2013 a trip to the state tournament (in its true eight-team format) for the first time since 2014.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve really focused on our defense,\u201d said Buffington, of her team\u2019s preparation for the big tournament games ahead, \u201cand our bench is so deep, so it helps us bring out the best in each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just like what their opponents have learned, as the game wears on, the Bulldogs typically have found an extra gear to close out games. \u201cWe have learned to \u2018tighten the screws,\u2019\u201d said Kibel, borrowing a phrase from her mother\u2019s playbook, \u201cit\u2019s about recognizing that we\u2019re doing some things well, but also learning where we can improve and refine our game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finding the line between seeing her mother as coach and parent has been a learning process for Shania, but one that has strengthened their bond. \u201cIt\u2019s added a whole new dynamic to our relationship,\u201d said Kibel, \u201cwe know we\u2019re both working toward the same goal. I know that my whole life, I\u2019ve really looked up to her \u2013 and I know that she\u2019s brought out the best in me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The family tie hits home for Buffington as well, and has helped her to keep perspective of her place in the program\u2019s rich history. \u201cIt\u2019s never been about how many points I scored, but I want to be remembered for how I treated my teammates,\u201d added Buffington, \u201cand seeing the names of all of the other Buffingtons on the banners in the gym has always made me push myself to be my best.\u201d<\/p>\n

A 20-1 campaign didn\u2019t come without its own hardships \u2013 the Bulldogs have overcome a number of injuries and illnesses, along with carrying the target on their back as the defending San Juan Basin League champions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud of our mental toughness, and how we\u2019ve responded to adversity,\u201d commented Buffington about her pride in the team\u2019s achievements. The \u2018Dogs needed their grit on their less-than-optimal nights, including a pair of tough wins over league title contender, Ignacio.<\/p>\n

Kibel knows the adversity all-too-well, bracing her knee before each outing, opting to play out her career without an ACL, having torn it for the second time in two years during her volleyball season.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, an immensely talented group of underclassmen have turned to their senior duo for leadership in the home stretch.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can show them what\u2019s possible, even with challenges\u201d added Kibel, alluding to her determination to work through her injury, \u201cand they\u2019ve [the underclassmen] taught me to realize that I should be a good leader, because you never know who\u2019s looking up to you.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tight-knit Bulldogs poised for a run at state tournament<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29,346],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-41883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter","tag-sports"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41883","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=41883"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85133,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41883\/revisions\/85133"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41883"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=41883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}