Simla blitzes Colorado Springs School

Using a full-court press reminiscent of Rick Pitino's glory teams at Kentucky, Simla raced past host Colorado Springs School, 74-29, in a matchup of Class 2A District8 opponents.

Simla relied on the press, which used its speed and depth and nullified Colorado Springs School's height advantage, extensively in the first half and jumped out to a 45-18 lead.

Countless times in the first half, the press, which traps opposing ball handlers deep in the backcourt, Simla forced errant CSS passes and turned them into transition points.

Simla coach Al Snyder said his team loves to play the full-court defense, which makes his job easier.

"The last two-and-a-half weeks we've been having a lot of success with it," Snyder said. "The girls are starting to understand it better and now they can see it develop and adjust."

Snyder added that now his team doesn't know how to slow down.

Whenever Simla was forced to use its half-court offense, it ran into trouble. Specifically, 6-foot-2 junior Stephanie Hunter, who blocked 13 shots and pulled down 14 rebounds for CSS.

Senior Kim Gordon, who scored 12 points, said her team had trouble handling Hunter, who is 4 inches taller than anyone on Simla's team, in the paint.

However, CSS never got closer than 30 points in the second half, and Simla's Snyder ceased pressuring CSS' guards. Still, every Simla player scored, led by junior Anne Duncan's 20 points.

Duncan, who was on the receiving end of several fastbreak opportunities, refused to take credit for the victory.

"It was a good team win - the people off the bench did well too," she said. "It was just a good effort by everyone."

- Kurt Eilmes may be reached at 636-0250 or keilmes@gazette.com

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