Lyons Girls Basketball traveled to Denver Christian on Tuesday, January 21, at less than full strength. Senior Starter Hannah Paton was ill and could not make the trip. Her absence proved difficult to overcome.
Throughout the close affair, the Lions played solid half-court defense against the Warriors, limiting them to difficult outside shots and off-balance contested drives. It was Denver Christian’s transition game that proved to be their greatest strength.
At halftime, the Lions were down by just five, 24-19. The five-point difference remained throughout the second half as the cold-shooting Lions could not find a way to close the gap. Shooting just five for 16 from the free throw line and 14 for 51 overall, the girls had difficulty finding the bottom of the basket all evening.
Lyons’ valiant effort on defense was not enough to overcome the shooting woes and the running game of the Warriors. With a final of Denver Christian 43 to the Lions 35, the Lions fell to 4-7 heading into Friday’s match up with Longmont Christian.
Lyons’ Brooklyn Enny was asked to play inside against the shorter DC girls. The freshman was up to the task, leading Lyons with 14 points on six for 15 shooting. Enny added 10 rebounds to record her second career double double. Junior Avery Joy contributed 10 points and seven rebounds to the Lions’ effort.
On Friday, the Lyons girls hoped to feed off of the energy of an accompanying group of students making the trip to Longmont to overcome some tired legs and minds. But it was obvious from the start that this was not going to be the Lions’ night.
The consecutive road games, a few colds, and some tired legs were not excuses, but they were realities that made Lyons’ challenge a tough one versus the experienced Longmont Christian Warriors. The Lions dug themselves a 9-2 hole in the first quarter, and the Warriors extended their lead to 14 by the half.
“At halftime we were determined to come out and give them a run during the second half. The girls responded positively, but despite the tremendous amount of energy and effort expended, we could only come up with four points,” said coach Marcus Richardson.
The outcome of this game was determined by shooting. Both teams had similar numbers across all categories, but Longmont Christian’s ability to knock down open shots proved to be the difference in the 45-28 final score.
Junior Hannah Schweiger played a fine game and was a bright spot for the Lions. Schweiger scored a season-high 12 points on five for 10 shooting. Junior Avery Joy added another 12 points including a pair of three pointers. Next up for the Lyons Girls are a pair of home games with Nederland visiting on Tuesday (1/28), and Friday (1/31) versus Clear Creek.
