PUEBLO — Once again, the Wray girls basketball team had no equal.
The Eagles won their second consecutive Class 2A state championship Saturday, outlasting Paonia 46-35 at Colorado State-Pueblo’s Massari Arena.
“This is very special to win again,” Wray coach David Reed said. “These opportunities are rare, and it feels very exciting to win again.”
The Eagles (26-1) won their seventh title and just missed winning state three years in a row when it lost 65-58 to Limon in double overtime in 2007.
This was Paonia’s best finish in school history. Paonia’s 1991 team finished third.
“The biggest difference in this game is that they (Wray) hit their shots and we didn’t,” Paonia coach Scott Rienks said. “We also made some mistakes that hurt us, but I’m very proud of the way my girls played.”
Christa Loyd paced Wray with 16 points. Her teammate, Stacy Post, the tournament MVP, added 10 points.
“Our coach (Reed) told us that this was our moment and nobody could take this away from us and we’re not about to lose,” Post said.
Paonia (25-2) was led by Grayson Pipher’s eight points.
At halftime, Wray held a 19-17 lead and then stepped on the gas, thanks to utilizing a 2-2-1 zone defense that caused fits for Paonia.
“We knew at halftime that we had to play better defensively and really picked up the second half,” Loyd said. “It just feels great to win state. We have 10 seniors on this team and we’ve been playing together since fifth grade. There’s no better way to go out than like this.”
Post powered Wray’s fourth-quarter charge with seven of her points as the Eagles pulled away for the win.
“Their defensive pressure really got to us,” Rienks said. “We have a press breaker that we use and we just made some mistakes and some poor passes. Wray also has a lot of experience, and I think the big game got to us a little bit.”
Paonia 7 10 8 10 — 35
Wray 11 8 9 18 — 46
Paonia — Ja. Reed 2 2-4 7, Jo. Reed 2 2-4 7, Godwin 0 1-2 1, Trujillo 2 0-2 4, Pipher 2 4-4 8, Hinton 1 0-0 2, Rienks 1 2-2 4, Venard 0 2-4 2. Totals 10 13-22 35.
Wray — Loyd 4 4-9 16, Bard 0 1-4 1, S.Post 3 4-6 10, Neumann 1 4-6 7, Cure 3 0-0 6, Twiss 1 1-3 3, Odell 1 0-0 3. Totals 13 14-28 46.
3-point goals — Ja. Reed, Jo. Reed, Loyd 4, Neumann, Odell. Fouls — Paonia 21, Wray 18. Fouled out — Venard. Technicals — none.
2A girls all-tournament team
Christa Loyd, Wray, Sr.
Brianna Bard, Wray, Jr.
Jordyn Rienks, Paonia, Jr.
Johanna Reed, Paonia, Jr.
Holli Salazar, Hayden, Sr.
MVP: Stacy Post, Wray, Sr.
