It is another big week for the Yuma High School girls basketball team.
The Outlaws were 11-4 overall and No. 5 in the CHSAA 3A Selection & Seeding Index heading into this past Tuesday’s 3A Patriot League game at rival Wray. They host No. 3 Wiggins on Friday before possibly getting a little bit of a break when they travel to Strasburg on Tuesday.
Yuma entered the week 5-0 in league play, right behind Wiggins at 6-0, and ahead of 4-1 Resurrection Christian and 5-2 Wray.
“It’s wide open for anyone who wants to play well at the right time,” Yuma coach Jeremy Robinson said. “We’ll find out this week. We’re going to have to shoot the ball better this week than we have been.”
Wiggins has been a thorn in the Outlaws’ side in recent seasons with its physical play. The Tigers will be bringing the same style to town on Friday.
“Wiggins is going to be like a state tournament game,” Robinson said. “They just beat us up every year. They are physical and crawl all over you.”
The Outlaws had little trouble with last-place Frontier Academy, cruising to a 66-33 win last Friday in The Pit.
Yuma ran out to a quick lead, and were up 36-18 at halftime. The Outlaws then scored 21 unanswered points in the third for a 57-22 win.
They made the only 3-pointer they took, but it was the first made trey in three games. They shot 52 percent on 2-pointers, making 28 of 54 for their best shooting performance of the season. They came up with 18 steals on defense.
Berkley Nighswonger and Taryn Sheffield have become consistent big scorers for the Outlaws. Sheffield finished with 21 points and four steals, Nighswonger 19 points and four rebounds, Lauren Gonzales seven points and nine rebounds, Bailey Nighswonger six points and five steals, Sadee Mosenteen five points, Laisha Loya four points, Aubrey Black two points and five steals, Layla Glanz two points and four rebounds, and Keylen Quezada four rebounds and three steals.
The Outlaws improved to 12-4, 6-0, with a 54-29 win at rival Wray, Tuesday night. The game was close early, but the Outlaws led 32-13 by halftime and cruised from there. They made four 3-pointers in the first half, and finished with five, after making just one in the previous three games.
Berkley Nighswonger had 17 points and five steals, Sheffield 11 points and four steals, Gonzales nine points and two rebounds, Black six points, Bailey Nighswonger four points, four rebounds and five steals, Loya four points and three rebounds, Glanz two points, and Quezada one point and four rebounds.