Symony Call of Grand goes for a layup during action against Green River on Nov. 20 at Moab. Call played for the Lady Devils in both the junior varsity and the varsity games.
In the junior varsity contest played right before the varsity game on Nov. 20 at Moab, the Lady Devils had shown promise. Grand’s JV team defeated its Green River counterparts 42-35. However, the Lady Devils got off to a slow start in the varsity game, failing to score at all in the first quarter as the Lady Pirates built an early 14-0 lead.
“We weren’t quite as prepared as we should have been,” said GCHS head coach Rick Lopez. “Some of it might have been first-game jitters, but we seemed nervous and had trouble taking care of the ball.”
Lopez said the Lady Pirates played strong defense that hampered the efforts of the Lady Devils.
“Green River is always a good, solid, team,” he said. “They put that press defense on us right at the beginning, and we really struggled to move the ball.”
Grand trailed 35-7 at the start of the fourth quarter, but rallied to outscore Green River 13-10 in the final eight minutes of play.
Despite the low overall team scoring total, eight different players got on the board for the Lady Devils. They were led by freshman Madi Jones, who had five points for Grand. Fellow freshman Kylie Haycock added three points, as did starting point guard Torrie Lopez, a senior.
Scoring two points each for Grand were Alena Geiser, Teaven Fredericks, Alexandra Gomez, and Symony Call. Brook Schultz added one point on a free throw.
The Lady Pirates were led by Michaela Hughes, who scored 16 points in the game. Her teammate, Jamie Johnson, added 12 points.
This week, the Lady Devils’ only scheduled contest is another non-region home game, against the Monticello Lady Buckaroos on Tuesday, Nov. 27. Next week, on Tuesday, Dec. 4, Grand will host Pinnacle Academy. That varsity game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Region play will not begin for the Lady Devils until early January, after the holiday break.