Geddes, Porter lead 3A No. 9 Delta girls basketball past 4A Montrose

Jeremy Geddes

Delta’s defense turned up the heat, and turned an early deficit into a big halftime lead. The Panthers would go on to beat Montrose 52-37 in a non-league matchup on Tuesday.

Delta trailed 14-7 in the first quarter, but a 5-0 run made it 14-12 after the first break. The Panthers then used a 12-2 advantage in the second quarter to take a 24-16 lead at halftime.

“Our girls played with great focus and determination tonight,” Delta coach Kyle Crowder said. “Defensively we were really solid which forced Montrose to take shots we wanted them taking. Offensively we were balanced with multiple girls contributing good numbers.

Jake Green

“We rebounded well and this led to opportunities on the offensive end,” Crowder added. “We were solid from the free throw line all night, but much better then we have been down the stretch  when we needed to be. Montrose is a solid ball club and they are always a challenge. We are really excited for the win.”

Delta expanded its lead to 37-23 after three, and it was 41-24 in the fourth before a 10-1 run by Montrose cut it to 42-34. Montrose began to foul in order to try to narrow the gap further, but Delta made its free throws to secure the win.

The Panthers were led by 16 points from senior Sara Geddes, and 14 from junior Keely Porter.

Montrose got eight points apiece from Hadley Greiner, Josie Eccher and Caraline Burwell.

“Give coach Crowder and his team a lot of credit,” Montrose coach Steve Skiff said. “They were able to come in and execute. We will regroup and be ready to open league play on Friday.”