Walsenburg boys, La Veta Ladies come out on top
by Mark Craddock
LA VETA — In the beginning, Thursday’s matchup between the Walsenburg Panthers and theLa Veta Redhawks boys basketball squads looked like it would be a close one.
With 1:25 to go in the first, the teams were tied up 11-11. La Veta’s Trey Medina’s outside shooting (including a pair of 3 pointers) was proving to be a strong counterpoint for the aerial acrobatics of Walsenburg’s Nino Cisneros and Elton Chavez.
But La Veta’s offense ran hot and cold, while the Chavez-Cisneros show continued unabated. Waslenburg owned the paint on both sides of the gym, in spite of strong defensive efforts by La Veta’s tall man Tristan Musgrave, and Medina.
Redhawks Medina (16 points), Musgrave (10 points) and Isiah Rodriguez (12 points) led La Veta’s scoring effort.
But it was not enough to overcome the Panthers’ offensive juggernaut.
Walsenburg’s record stands at 9-4 overall and 4-2 in the 3A/2A Santa Fe League.
La Veta’s record is 3-9, with no action yet in the 1A Fishers Peak League.
Meanwhile, in the ladies’ game La Veta overwhelmed Walsenburg 53-19.
The Lady Redhawks boasts a 17-player roster, with no fewer than seven members standing 5-foot-7 or taller.
With starter Kaydence Perrino sidelined by injury, the Lady Panthers fielded five players, with no bench. And only center Antonia Martinez stands 5-foot-7.
After a few unsuccessful forays into the paint, facing a red-and-white forest of taller opponents, Walsenburg settled into a strategy of outside passes and shots.
It was nearly 10 minutes into the game before the Lady Panthers scored on a long strike by Allison Padilla.
Walsenburg’s Kaydence Perrino and Adrianna Bobian added some three-point shots, but the squad could not overcome La Veta’s dominance of the boards.
Walsenburg’s record stands at 1-12 and 0-6 in the 3A/2A Santa Fe League.
La Veta’s record is 5-7, with no league play yet.
