Yuma girls look to break into win column tonight

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It is pretty simple…it is time for the Yuma High School girls basketball team to start winning.
“Winning and losing definitely is a habit,” head coach Jeremy Robinson said. “You get that elusive win, you get some confidence. It’s on me, I’ve got to figure it out.”

The Indians enter this week 0-5 overall, 0-2 in Lower Platte Activities Association play after a pair of hard-fought losses to Holyoke last Friday and Sedgwick County on Saturday to start LPAA play.

Meidi Reyes makes a jump pass during the game against Sedgwick County, last Saturday in Julesburg. (Dave Gustafson)

Their first five games have come against Brush, 3-1 and ranked No. 10 in Class 3A, 2A seventh-ranked Limon (4-1), Chase County, Nebraska, that was 13-5 entering their contest, 2A third-ranked Holyoke (6-0) and 2A 13th-ranked Sedgwick County (6-0). That’s a combined record of 32-7, 19-2 for the Colorado teams.
“If our schedule was the opposite, where we get some confidence and then hit these teams later in the season…but it is what it is, here we are,” Robinson said.
On the plus side, the Indians actually have moved up several spots in the 2A Rating Percentage Index to 38th as of Monday, due to their strength of schedule. (They had dropped to 40th in the RPI as of Thursday, February 11.) On the negative side, they still are winless.
“Strength of schedule would be good, but we need to have some wins,” Robinson said. “They’re not going to take you (for the 24-team state tournament) just on strength of schedule.”
Now comes a stretch of three straight games against LPAA 1A teams. The Merino Rams come to town today, February 11. Merino entered this week 0-3, 0-2 in the LPAA, including a 51-16 loss to the same Holyoke squad that Yuma gave fits last Friday.
Ema Richardson puts up a shot during the game against Sedgwick County in Julesburg, last Saturday. (Dave Gustafson)
The Indians then head to Caliche on Friday. The Buffaloes entered this week 1-3 overall, 0-1 in the LPAA. Yuma is on the road again Tuesday to Haxtun. The Fightin’ Bulldogs entered this week 3-2 overall, 0-1 in the LPAA.
Nevertheless, the Indians cannot expect things to get any easier.
“We’re going to have to come ready to play,” Robinson said. “I don’t think we have any easy games for us on the schedule.”
The Indians have flashed a tantalizing potential at times, and definitely always battle hard, but have been inconsistent enough to keep losing to quality teams.
“They do the big things really well,” Robinson said. “I have to do a better job with the little things, the normal basketball stuff like making layups, closing out on defense, boxing out for rebounds. It’s just not completely clicking yet. You have to do the little things well to beat good teams.”