LONGMONT — If the Longmont Trojans could finish halves the way they begin them, you might see one of those ridiculous 75-5 final scores, or something similar.
As it was Friday night, the host Trojans’ out-of-the-gates bursts were plenty sufficient to thump Rocky Mountain 68-51 in a cross-classification nonleague matchup.
Longmont, ranked No. 2 in Class 4A, blitzed the 5A Lobos 15-0 to start the contest and again 11-2 to begin the second half.
“That’s the worst,” said Longmont senior guard Jamie Katuna, who led all scorers with 20. “You get down and frustrated, and that’s where we wanted to put them.”
The Lobos didn’t fold, as they trimmed Longmont’s huge early advantage to six midway through the second quarter and avoided getting run out of the gym. The Trojans (4-0) simply couldn’t maintain the breakneck pace.
“The same thing happened against Fossil Ridge, so that’s something we’re going to have to work on,” 6-foot-5 Longmont center Megan Carpenter said.
Despite the periodic lulls, the Trojans were too much to handle. Their big three of Katuna, who will play at San Francisco, Carpenter (Oregon) and volleyball star Tambre Haddock (Northern Colorado) all were efficient.
Carpenter finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Haddock had 12 points and fellow starter Amber Thornholt had 11.
Rocky Mountain (1-2) has a Division I player of its own in Colorado State-bound forward Kara Spotton, but the slow start had the Lobos playing catch-up for the balance of the contest.
“Our shots just started off really off, and I think that got us off of our game,” said Spotton, whose 13 points paced the Lobos. “We just have to work on playing disciplined.”
Longmont used Haddock, its premier defender, to shadow Spotton.
Rocky Mountain 7 12 12 20 — 51
Longmont 17 13 15 23 — 68
Rocky Mountain — Catlett 3 1-3 7, Dando 0 2-2 2, Spotton 5 2-5 13, Ambriz 2 3-4 7, Musante 3 3-4 9, Winger 2 0-0 4, DeBord 1 0-0 2, Boyles 0 0-0 0, Loury 0 0-0 0, Knoll 3 0-1 7, Neal 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 11-19 51.
Longmont — Meier 2 4-6 8, Katuna 6 8-8 20, Haddock 6 0-0 12, Thornholt 2 6-6 11, Carpenter 6 2-4 14, Fallon 0 0-0 0, Canar 0 1-2 1, K. Schell 0 2-2 2, Carney 0 0-0 0, A. Schell 0 0-0 0, Chandler 0 0-0 0, Murray 0 0-0 0.Totals 22 23-28 68.
3-point goals — Spotton, Knoll; Thornholt. Fouled out — Spotton, Winger, Carpenter.Technical fouls — none.Total fouls —Rocky Mountain 23, Longmont 21.
