BY JIM THOMAS

GRAND JUNCTION — Their "2000 Quest for Gold" continues for the Dolores High School varsity girls basketball team. With a hard-fought 61-58 win over Hayden Saturday morning, March 4, at the Western Regionals at Grand Junction High School, the Bears get their shot a going for gold.

They earned a ticket to the Class 2A State Basketball Championships and earned the top seed. The undefeated Bears, 22-0, take on Holly, 14-8, in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 9, in the Pueblo Events Center.

On the backs of a warm-up tee shirt the girls wear is the slogan "2000 Quest for Gold, Not Tomorrow, Not Next Year, Now." And now they get that shot but it was a struggle against the Tigers at Regionals in order to get that opportunity.

With just 1:36 remaining in the game, Dolores trailed Hayden 58-57. But Brianna Hanson broke loose and drove the baseline for a lay-up that put the Bears on top for good at 59-58. Hanson, a few seconds later, sank a key free throw. Thanks to some big offensive rebounds, the Bears got a couple more chances to score. Tegan Brown, who had missed a free throw only seconds earlier, hit the front end of one-plus-one with 21 seconds left which iced the game at 61-58. Hayden had a chance to tie the game, if they made a three, but Cassie Rolando missed and Hanson rebounded to seal the win.

"We made the key plays to win it," an elated head coach Greg Buffington said following the game. "It came down to two or three possession and we got a couple big rebounds."

When the fourth quarter started Dolores held a narrow 48-46 advantage. The Bears went up 52-46 and later led 55-50 but Natalie McDonald tied the game a few minutes later at 55 after canning a three. Buffington called time at 2:55 to settle his team down.

The game opened with neither team mounting much of an offense. Dolores missed several shots early. The Tigers led early 6-4. But Dolores reeled off five straight points to go up 11-6. They led 15-8 when the quarter ended.

Hayden began the second quarter with a 6-0 run. Dolores’ lead was down to one at 15-14. A couple heads up baskets by Jennifer Trevillian and Dolores was back on top 19-16 with 3:04 to go. The game was tied again at 21-all when Rolando made an old fashioned three-point play. It was just about at that point the game became very physical. The Bears led 35-31 at the intermission.

Again Dolores missed some early easy shots in the third period. Hanson made a nice lay-up after Ruthie Martin saved the ball from going out-of-bounds. That hoop put Dolores up 37-31. Later Hanson made a break-away lay-up which put Dolores ahead 42-39 with 4:14 to go in the quarter. Leading 46-43, McDonald canned a three which tied the game at 46-all late in the quarter. Dolores led 48-46 when the period ended.

Dolores had balanced scoring. Brown finished with 16 points, Hanson popped in 15, and Martin and Trevillian added 14 each. Rolando led Hayden with 23, Sara Herndon chipped in 15, and McDonald added 10.

Last year the Bears’ quest for gold fell a little short. They didn’t win silver or bronze either and settled for fourth place at State.