Box score
Fort Morgan 52
Canon City 56
Haley Lewis: 19 points, 5-7 FT, 13 rebounds
Kelsey Shaver: 15 points, 8 rebounds (6 offensive)
Fort Morgan’s 13-game win streak came to a crushing defeat at Fort Morgan High School on Tuesday.
The Mustangs led midway through the fourth quarter but could not hold on. Cañon City took advantage of some mistakes down the stretch to win 56-52 and eliminate Fort Morgan from the 4A state tournament on the Mustang’s home floor.
“We were fortunate to get some film on them (Cañon City) and knew what to expect,” head coach Andy Schon said. “We knew they were quick, but they surprised us.”
A packed house gave the Mustangs plenty of energy throughout the game, which was tight for the full 32 minutes.
Freshman Allie Christensen made the first shot on the first possession and was fouled for the three-point play. From there, it was a trading of baskets from both teams in the first quarter. Juniors Haley Lewis and Kelsey Shaver had the bulk of the scoring early for the Mustangs, while Cañon City had Jerika Moore and Ellie Till combining for 13 of the team’s 15 first points.
Up 17-15 to start the second quarter, Fort Morgan got into trouble on offense with errant passes that were not crisp and finding their target. The turnovers piled on and Cañon City began to take advantage with Till, Moore, and Elizabeth McCalla leading the way.
“It’s tough in big game situations for us,” Schon said. “We are getting older, but we still don’t have that big-game experience. It’s not an excuse for us. We had too many turnovers and against a quality opponent, that will come back to bite you.”
Cañon City scored 15 points and held Fort Morgan to 7 in the second to lead 30-24 at halftime.
After the Tigers made the first shot of the third quarter, Fort Morgan went on its biggest run of the game.
Shaver got a pair of three-point plays and scored six straight points to cut the lead down to three. Lewis added some buckets in the paint and a number of guards made some timely shots in the quarter. The Mustangs went on a 9-0 to get their first lead of the second half and outscored Cañon City 14-8 in the quarter to tie the game at 38 going into the fourth.
Lewis and Shaver extended the run in the fourth quarter by scoring seven of the first eight points in the quarter to give the Mustangs a 46-39 lead. A high pick-and-roll play early in the quarter began to open up the two bigs inside for quality looks at the rim.
“We were trying to give Hallee (Shaver) some help up top,” Schon said. “They (Cañon City) were doing a good job of defending the ball. We wanted to give her some relief and we got some nice baskets out of it to get us going.”
But Cañon City would not be denied on the road.
The Tigers stormed back in a span of just roughly three minutes with a pair of three-point plays and got back to forcing a number of turnovers from the Mustangs. Their run was capped by a 3-point shot with 1:58 remaining to take a 48-46 lead.
A stop following a timeout allowed the Tigers to run their five-corner offense and kill a good chunk of the clock on each possession, forcing Fort Morgan to foul and put them at the line. Free throws from Moore, Kate Tedquist, Katie kept Cañon City in front, but a missed second attempt from Katie Till gave Fort Morgan a chance to score with 7.5 seconds remaining to tie or win the game.
Fort Morgan would be unable to get a shot as a final pass was off target to freshman Lauren Keller and went out of bounds. Two final free throws from Tedquist sealed the win for Cañon City.
Lewis finished with 19 points and Kelsey Shaver had 15 to lead Fort Morgan in the loss. Schon said the loss was a big sting for the team and for senior Abby Mussman in her final game.
“It’s always hard to say goodbye to a senior,” Schon said. “We’ll be sorry to see her go. The other girls have the opportunity to go back, but it is a sobering feeling knowing you have played your final game.”
With the win, Cañon City will travel to face Pueblo East in the second round of the 4A state tournament on Friday.
Brandon Boles: 970-441-5102, sports@fmtimes.com or twitter.com/FMT_Sports