The Bobcats opened the quarter on a 7-0 run that was highlighted by a 3-pointer from Valdez. IHS stretched a 12-2 lead into its largest of the game at 21-6 late in the second quarter. It came after Brunson buried her third 3-pointer of the quarter. She added two more free throws, and Ignacio went into halftime with a sizable 23-10 lead.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom last night, I wasn\u2019t starting off looking at my shot,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cI just came out today and was practicing before the game. I know how to shoot the ball. There were a few times where i wasn\u2019t even looking at the basket and I didn\u2019t want to shoot it at first. But I knew that to execute the offense and to get everything rolling, as long as I squared up my feet, focused in and shot the ball, I knew I could make them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rocky Ford would not go quietly, as it began the second half on a 12-1 run to cut the deficit to just two, at 24-22. Snyder made a straightaway 3-pointer, and on the next possession, she waltzed past two defenders for a baseline layup with just over two minutes left in the quarter. The Bobcats had to look to their bench after senior captain Makayla Howell picked up her fourth personal foul with just under seven minutes left in the third.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe couldn\u2019t quite figure out an offense that worked for us,\u201d Snyder said. \u201cWith the high pressure and our posts weren\u2019t able to get enough touches down low, it was a lot of guessing. Still, we did a good job of getting back to what worked well in the second half, but it was just a bit too late. \u2026 The fact that we had such a great season and we\u2019re returning everybody, it makes us really excited for next year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Valdez answered the call on a personal 5-0 run to end the quarter, as she made her first 3-pointer of the second half, and also hit a jump shot. Ignacio led 29-22 after three quarters.<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest thing that was going through my mind was to stay calm,\u201d Valdez said. \u201cBeing the point guard, you\u2019ve got to set the pace for everybody. If I got too excited, so would the rest of the team. I was trying to really keep calm, and the guards were trying to stay together and really communicate on that. I was trying to call out the plays loudly so that we could execute our offense and not rush anything.\u201d<\/p>\n Ignacio\u2019s run continued early into the fourth quarter as the Bobcats scored the first seven points, including a game-breaking 3-pointer by Gallegos to put IHS up by 14 at 36-22 with 5:44 left. It prompted Mark Henson to spend a timeout.<\/p>\n Ignacio\u2019s defense continued to create havoc, as the Bobcats turned more turnovers into points. Howell had a nice assist to a streaking Avaleena Nanaeto for a timely layup with under minutes left. Ignacio was able to empty its bench, as every player got play time in the closing seconds.<\/p>\n When the buzzer sounded, for Howell, it was a completely different reaction than last year\u2019s buzzer, when Ignacio lost in overtime to Wray on the same floor. After final celebrations, both Ignacio boys and girls teams were able to cut down the nets, similar to the NCAA March Madness tournament tradition.<\/p>\n \u201cI think our main thing was that we were focused on playing as a team,\u201d Howell said. \u201cWe are our biggest enemy and when we don\u2019t play as a team, that\u2019s when we let other teams beat us. We have to remember that we are a family, and I think that\u2019s important. None of us gave up on each other. \u2026 We\u2019ve never cut down the nets, so that was an amazing feeling. It was great to have both the boys and girls teams do it because we both made it to state this year.\u201d<\/p>\n Ignacio will find out its Great 8 opponent when the bracket is released Sunday. The Bobcats will ride a 15-game winning streak into the state quarterfinals Thursday at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland.<\/p>\n