PUEBLO — Their "Quest for Gold 2000" didn’t exactly turnout as planned. But they did bring home the bronze as the Dolores High School captured third place at the Class 2A Girls Basketball Championships Saturday, March 11, in the Pueblo Event Center.

The Bears defeated Sanford 52-45. They lost to Strasburg 52-48 in the semifinals Friday, March 10. The varsity team finished with a still sparkling 24-1 record, the best in the school’s history.

"The seniors really showed a lot of character in coming back from the loss to Strasburg," Dolores head coach Greg Buffington said following the win over Sanford. "They really responded well from last night (the loss to Strasburg). I can’t say enough about them."

Finishing their career are seniors Tiffany Boone, Brianna Hanson, Ruthie Martin, Tegan Brown, Lindy Fredrick, Shelly Rhodes, Kayla Erickson.

The Bears came out with a tough press against the Indians which forced some early turnovers. Hanson scored the first 6 points for Dolores as the Bears took a 6-2 lead. But Sanford came back and led 7-6 when Sara Reynolds made a putback with 4:31 to play. Sanford led 14-13 when the first quarter ended.

Boone hit a three-pointer from the top of the key to start the second period off the right way for the Bears. Hanson’s baseline jumper put DHS up 18-14. But the Indians rallied and eventually tied the game at 18-all with 4:44 left. The score was tied once again at 21. But Dolores regained control and went up 28-22 when Boone canned a three. A jumper by Tegan Brown gave the Bears a 30-25 seconds before the half ended.

The third period also began on a good note as Hanson made a lay-up. Dolores did make some costly turnovers which allowed the Indians to get back into the game at 38-32 when Miranda Larsen sank one of two charity tosses with 3:07 to go. Dolores led 39-34 when the quarter was over.

Sanford pulled within five at 41-36 when Buffington called time at 5:19. Boone quickly got the Bears going after hitting another three from the top of the key. But a few minutes later the Indians had pulled within four at 46-42 with 3:40 to play. The Indians got even closer at 47-44 when Dolores needed another time with 3:15 showing. The Indians pulled within a basket at 47-45 with 1:52 to play.

"We didn’t make very good shot selections at the end of the game," Buffington commented.

Boone made a free throw with a minute to play. Then sophomore Jennifer Trevillian may have saved the day. She responded defensively with a steal and was fouled. She sank both ends off a 1-plus-1 with 46.6 seconds left, giving Dolores a 50-45 advantage. She made a steal and was fouled but missed the free throws. Trevillians again made a steal but this time made a lay-up which made the final score 52-45.

Hanson led all Dolores scorers with 18, Boone knocked down 13 and Brown 8. Kayla Flavin led Sanford with 21 and Larsen chipped in 13.

Dolores opened the semifinals by missing several easy lay-ups and shots in close. That would set the tone for the rest of the game. It took a few minutes for either team to score when finally Hanson made a turn-around jumper. The score would stay 2-0 for a long time. Keely O’Dell tied the game at 2-2 after driving the lane. The Bears went up 4-2 when Brown scored and it stayed that way for quite a while. Julie Bowen worked the inside and scored with a minute to play. O’Dell made a bank shot just before the quarter ended, giving Strasburg a 6-4 lead.

Erin Dettenbaugh hit a three for Strasburg opening the second period but Boone responded with a three. Dolores made some costly turnovers which began to hurt them. Also, Dolores’ shots would rim in and then go out. Their charity tosses also were going astray. The ball simply was not falling for the Bears. Ever so slowly Strasburg, also the nicknamed the Indians, began pulling away. But two free throws and a turn-around by Hanson tied the game at 11. Bowen later gave Strasburg a 18-15 lead. It held a 20-15 advantage when the half ended.

Dolores came out pressing on defense and forced some turnovers early in the third. Boone canned a three off one of those and the Bears made a 6-2 run. They trailed 22-21 with 4:49 showing. Brown tied the game at 24-all when she sank a three with 3:42. Bowen went to work inside and soon Strasburg was up 29-24 with 2:17 remaining. Dolores again was missing some easy basket opportunities and started missing free throws as well. Strasburg led 32-26 when the quarter horn sounded.

In the opening seconds of the fourth quarter, Dolores’ shots were going in but coming right back out. Dettenbaugh hit a three from the wing which gave Strasburg a 37-26 lead with 6:33 to play. Time was beginning to run out for the Bears. The Indians led 39-29 with 5:28 to go. The game’s pace picked up dramatically the rest of the way.

Trevillian scored two straight baskets which cut Strasburg’s led to 44-36. Brown hit a big three and the Bears were within striking distance at 47-42 with 1:43 to play. Boone made a steal and a lay-up a few minutes later and the Bears trailed 47-45 with 1:19 to go. The Bears, though, were forced to foul. Bowen made two free throws which gave the Indians some breathing room at 48-45. Martin responded with a three which knotted the game at 48-all with 37.3 seconds left. Bowen got loose underneath and scored and Crsytal Freeman, who had not scored all game, came through with a pair of free throws which gave Strasburg a 52-48 lead with 9.6 left. The Indians managed to run out the clock for the win.

For the game, Dolores missed some 20 free throws and shot less than 45 percent from the field.