Making the playoffs still is a long shot, but at least the Yuma High School girls basketball team finally has been able to enjoy a winning streak.
The Indians had their first 2-0 weekend of the season, knocking off Peyton 41-37 at home last Friday, then rallying for a 63-55 LPAA win at Wiggins on Saturday.
That leaves them 4-8 overall, and 3-4 in the LPAA, heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
“I was super proud of them last weekend,” head coach Jeremy Robinson said. “Hopefully it will continue.”
It will be a tall challenge for the Indians to finish the regular season on a four-game winning streak.
They close out league play Friday night in The Pit against rival Wray. The Eagles have stumbled a bit, sitting at 4-3 in LPAA play, 9-3 overall, but still are No. 8 in the Rating Percentage Index, and No. 8 in the coaches Top 15 poll on CHSAANow.com.
Yuma then concludes the regular season Saturday in Kersey against the Platte Valley Broncos. They entered this week ranked fourth in the Top 15 in Class 3A, and No. 2 in the RPI.
“Every team is beatable, so you never know,” Robinson said. “I keep telling the kids that the mind is their biggest defender.”
He said the key against Wray is to stop the Eagles from getting out in transition for layups, and the best way to do that is make baskets.
“We need to make them transition out of the net,” Robinson said.
Even if the Indians can pull off two upsets this weekend, it could be a stretch for them to make the 24-team playoff field. The playoff brackets will be announced Monday, March 8, with seeds 9-24 playing at the higher-seeded team on Tuesday.
The Indians are not ranked in the 2A coaches poll. They were No. 29 in the RRI as of this past Tuesday, dropping two spots from Monday.
“Our strength of schedule is keeping us up there,” Robinson said, “but our winning percentage is killing us.”
The girls team was the only one in action last weekend, as the boys team canceled the rest of its regular season due to a COVID-19 case within the team. The school also decided not to send the boys and girls wrestling teams to their competitions on Saturday as a precautionary measure.
(The girls team will be a bit shorthanded this weekend as two players have been placed in quarantine.)
That left just the Indians to carry the banner, and they stepped up to the challenge.
“It was the first time we just kind of went out and played basketball,” Robinson said. “They dealt with just what was in front of them.”
