LONGMONT — No matter how one chooses to look at the losing stretch the Skyline girls basketball team had suffered through — not days but weeks had passed since starting 3-1 — the Falcons are now ready to start anew.
And they might be able to look at Wednesday’s game against Denver North as a turn-the-corner kind of affair. A team that has had second-half woes, Skyline put some good things together once its lead against the Vikings was threatened, and a dominant performance on the boards also fed into a 51-30 non-league win at the SHS gym.
With upcoming games against Roosevelt and Frederick to get back into Tri-Valley League play, the Falcons have something to build off of as they stopped a nine-game skid.
“We turned it on in the third quarter and played like we knew we could, and it’s a big confidence boost going into some games we need to win,” said Leah Osborn, who paced the Falcons (4-10) with 20 points and nine rebounds. “We can give Roosevelt and Frederick a run for their money if we go out and play hard.
“There was a switch of mentality in this game, especially after halftime.”
The Falcons were coming off a game against Mead they thought was winnable, and first year head coach Gerald Macon said some of the losses they’ve endured don’t reflect the work his girls have put in.
But on Wednesday, the right buttons were pushed when the Vikings (7-8) made it an 18-12 game in the third quarter. Skyline forced 11 turnovers in the frame and went on an 11-0 run that parlayed into a 35-13 lead after three frames.
Osborn had eight points in the quarter and the Falcons had their best shooting stretch of the night at 6-for-19.
Johanna Aguilar had nine points and nine rebounds, and Vanessa Villerreal had 11 points for the Falcons.
Mary Segura had 17 points for North, and 15 of those came in the fourth quarter. However, the Vikings also shot just 9-for-48 for the contest as they struggled to adjust to the different looks from SHS.
“We’ve worked on our zone trapping defense a lot, and we’re really starting to get a feel for it,” Osborn said.
“They’re not happy with a 20-point win when it could have been a 40-point win, and I think that’s kind of the sign of a growing program,” Macon added. “We’ve seen in the past couple weeks the ability to play up to a team like Mead, but we also played down a little bit to this team.
“We’ll continue to work.”
Adam Dunivan: dunivana@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/AdamDunivan24
Skyline 51, Denver North 30
At Skyline HS
DENVER NORTH (7-8)
Esperanza Medina 1 0-0 2, Casianna Choruzy 0 0-0 0, Jada Aguirre 0 0-0 0, Mary Segura 5 7-8 17, Zyana Casillas 0 0-0 0, Aaliyah Brown 2 4-11 9, Isabella Archuleta 0 0-0 0, Amelia Gardner 1 0-0 2, Sue Ali 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 11-19 30.
SKYLINE (4-10)
Leah Osborn 5 10-18 20, Rachel Kissinger 1 1-2 3, Kelsey Robison 1 0-0 2, Johanna Aguilar 4 1-5 9, Chaille Sinner 0 0-0 0, Bailey Emmanuel 0 0-0 0, Bella Garcia 1 0-0 2, Vanessa Villerreal 4 1-2 11, Kylie Earhart 1 2-2 4. Totals 17 15-29 51.
Score by quarters:
Denver North
2
4
7
17
—
30
Skyline
10
6
19
16
—
51
3-point field goals — North (1): Brown; Skyline (2): Villerreal. Fouled out — Segura, Brown.
