The start of the basketball season sees a lot of hope for the Buena Vista Demons, with new faces leading the program, and a lot of returning faces to the team from last year’s squad.
Last season
The Buena Vista Demons in 2018-19 struggled to a 5-14 record, being eliminated in the first round of the Tri-Peaks Tournament to Florence in after a last second shot just didn’t go down in time.
The Demons only graduated three seniors from last years team, and of those, only on contributed big points to the team in Shelby Storms, who finished the season last year with 7.2 points per game and nearly 4 rebounds.
Buena Vista struggled to put points up on the board through the season, gaining only 34.5 points per game, but their defense was also a solid standing point for the team, only allowing 45.3 points per game.
Into 2019
This season, a returning core of players who learned from last year’s ups and downs on the court is the biggest gain for the Demons, with seven returning seniors to build a base off of.
Mady McFee will be a presence for the Demons on the inside, returning after averaging 13.4 points per game and 7.4 rebounds per game to led the Demons in both categories, as well as in assists and steals.
Sage McGinnis will be returning as well, bringing an average of 5.7 points per game and 4.9 rebounds from last season. It will be interesting to see how the Demons new coaching staff uses the senior, with her height and and mobility making her a weapon inside and outside.
Other players who will be big for the team include Rebecca Ogden, who will most likely be used to spell McFee through the year, Lexi Petri, who most likely will emerge as the main point guard for the Demons by the end of the season, and Maddy Atha, who made big strides on the volleyball court, and could find herself in a leadership role coming off of the bench.
Obviously the biggest news for the girls program came in the hiring of returning Head Coach Robert Crowther. Crowther makes his return after just over a decade from the high school game, but brings plenty of experience with him, and four state titles with the boys and girls in Buena Vista already on his resume.
Season Outlook
A lot of good pieces are coming in place for the Demons, but the biggest factor this year will be the time it takes for it all to come together. The chemistry within the team should be fine, but it will take time for the new system run by Crowther to take hold and for everyone to get comfortable working with each other.
The Tri-Peaks League, as we all know, is not an easy league to wade through in the basketball season, particularly on the girls side, with St. Mary’s, CSCS, Vanguard, Manitou Springs and Lamar always awaiting you on the schedule.
Add to that non-conference games with Alamosa and their always tough home tournament on the 13th and 14th of December, and there are 8 very difficult games to plan for on the schedule right off the bat. Those games will eventually benefit the Demons, but with that, there will be some rough nights early in the season.
This season, expect to see more competition from the Demons, as with the amount of experience they bring back, many of the close losses from last year should turn into wins this go around. The team chemistry should also be good for the Demons, and this is a team which should compete for a spot in the final 32 teams in March.
Regular season prediction: 8-11 – Postseason Qualifiers on RPI
- Geraldine “Gerry” Lee Riddle (1948 – 2024) - January 17, 2024
- Kyle Joshua Knickerbocker (1994 – 2024) - January 17, 2024
- Brianna Therese Wancura (1990 – 2023) - January 11, 2024
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