With only two games under their gym shoes so far this season, the Demon Girls Varsity Basketball team hasn't let the restrictions of the pandemic prevent them from giving their all, especially since the team has six seniors who've been playing together since second grade. Sponsored by First Southwest Bank, Durango Hot Springs, Durango Dental, CyroMedSpa, and Four Corners Eye Clinic.
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To say that the Durango High School
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Girls Varsity Basketball team is tight,
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would be an understatement.
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With six seniors on the team, you'd expect
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that four years of
experience playing together,
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would make for well executed plays.
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But in this case, the seniors actually
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have been playing together
as a team since second grade.
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And they hope that experience
and longtime teamwork
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will carry them to the
Colorado High School
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Activities Association's 4A Playoffs
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for the State Championship.
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It definitely helps growing up together
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and playing the game we love together.
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Definitely!
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We just, you can tell when we play
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that we play as a team and we
play as a family basically.
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And so it doesn't get better than that.
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We work together to
accomplish all our goals,
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which is like really fun,
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versus individual where you're all alone
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and you kind of are on your own
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to figure out what you have
to do to win or whatever.
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But you know, you have people to rely on
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and they always have your
back and we love each other.
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So, that's what I love about it.
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I've been playing, like
I said, with these girls
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for a long time where I
feel like we know each other
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on a different level and
you can see it on the court.
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We just know where we are.
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We know how another person plays.
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There's just a certain
level of connectedness.
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And I think that really only comes with
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playing this difficult
sport for that many years
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with the same girls.
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Rowland, Cuntz, and McManus
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say the pandemic has injected
uncertainty this year,
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but their long-time
experience playing together
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definitely gives them an advantage
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during a shortened season.
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The Demons are scheduled to
play only 14 games this year,
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compared with the usual 24.
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It's been very strange
and interesting, you know,
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with the masks and stuff.
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We've definitely had to prove ourselves,
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and you know, our determination to play.
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You know, the people that want to play
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obviously want to be here
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and the people don't, they aren't here.
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So it really just shows
our dedication to the sport
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and how we want to do going forward.
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You know, more than anything,
I think we're just happy
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we get the opportunity to play.
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Even under these weird
circumstances, you know?
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The masks make it
difficult, but I don't think
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there's anything we wouldn't
do to have the opportunity.
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So it's been great!
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Obviously there's some little
bumps we have to overcome,
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but nothing we can't do
if we do it together, so.
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No matter whether they win or lose,
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team members say the fun in the game
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is about doing your best,
learn from your mistakes,
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and get ready for the next play,
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because it's coming right at
you in this fast-paced sport!
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One important thing
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is always uplifting each other.
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And a big part of basketball
is always moving on
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to the next play.
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Everyone's going to make mistakes.
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And I think every single girl
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on the team has had that moment,
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or those certain plays
where you're just like,
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"Wow, she is a really
good basketball player."
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And I've seen that with every
single one of my teammates.
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So when those moments do happen,
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just being as encouraging as possible,
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and clapping, and let's do it again,
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like next play, do it again.
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And when it doesn't go well,
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when you air ball a shot,
being there and supporting them
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and reminding them how good they are.
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It's just that one moment,
everybody makes mistakes.
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Michael Jordan made mistakes.
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So you just got to be as
encouraging as possible.
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It's really important,
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especially because of how
mentally tough the sport is.
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If you start getting down on yourself,
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then you're stuck in a rut.
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Good lessons for life,
not just basketball.
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And with that, we wish
the Demon Girls Basketball
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and Coach Tim Fitzpatrick the best of luck
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in their quest for a State Championship
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to cap off a 10-year career
of team spirit and comradery!
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I'm Wendy Graham Settle
for the Demon Spotlight.
