Grand’s Torrie Lopez (2) dribbles with the ball downcourt, flanked by Richfield players Megan Bean (10) and Alethia Munoz (34). Richfield won the Jan. 4 contest by the score of 72-23. Photo by Jeff Richards
The Grand County High School Lady Devils lost the opening game of their regular season last Friday, falling to the Richfield Wildcats by the score of 72-23.
Grand held a two-point lead twice early in the game, but after the score became 6-6 early in the second quarter, the Lady Wildcats went on a 33-0 run that lasted into the beginning of the second half.
The Lady Devils were frozen out in scoring until Brook Schultz hit a baseline shot early in the third quarter to make it 39-8. Although the game was well out of reach by that point, Grand did manage to score 17 points in the second half, 11 of those coming from senior guard Torrie Lopez.
Schultz and Linda Minor each added four points during the game for Grand, while freshmen Symony Call and Madi Jones each scored two points.
Richfield was led by center Megan Bean, who scored 20 points despite playing less than half the game. A total of 11 different players scored for the Wildcats, whose only apparent weakness during the convincing win was making just four of 13 free throw attempts.
“Richfield is just a tough team,” said GCHS head coach Rick Lopez afterward. “They’re strong, they’re quick, they’re big, and I’ll be surprised if they aren’t playing in the state championship game at the end of the season.”
Lopez said the Wildcats were faster on the court than Grand.
“They beat us on transitioning,” added Lopez. “They rebounded the ball well and beat us down the court. We need to work on getting the ball up the floor faster.”
The coach said his squad is down to 12 healthy players now, after starting the season with 20. Two players have suffered season-ending injuries, and another four have quit the team, he said.
“A lot of our girls play both [junior varsity] and varsity, and they can get tired playing in both games,” he said.
Even so, Lopez said he believes the Lady Devils will be competitive in this week’s matchups. Grand has two more region contests at home – against South Sevier on Friday, Jan. 11 and against Emery on Saturday, Jan. 12. Varsity play against South Sevier is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Lady Devil varsity squad is scheduled to play Emery on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
“We should match up well against South Sevier in particular,” Lopez said. “I like our chances.”