On Tuesday, Jan. 18, the Summit High School girls basketball team looked to continue its two-game winning streak after defeating two league opponents last week in Eagle Valley and Battle Mountain.

The Tigers hosted the 4-5 Moffat County Bulldogs, who were coming off a big win against Middle Park, which they defeated 68-16.

The Tigers team played without head coach Kayle Walker Burns, who was out due to COVID-19 protocols. Summit assistant coach Cat Scanlan filled in for the night.

The Bulldogs dominated in the opening quarter, running the score up on the Tigers as they turned the ball over and struggled to find an offensive rhythm.

The Bulldogs played at a fast place, moving the ball quickly on offense and making the Tigers work hard on both sides of the floor. By the end of the first quarter, the Bulldogs led the Tigers by double digits, 17-2.

Moffat County continued its dominance in the second quarter, as the Tigers let the Bulldogs cut inside and score points off continued turnovers.

Paola Arredondo was one member of the Tigers team who helped to jump-start their energy and offense as she manned the point guard position. But Arredondo fell into foul trouble in the middle of the second quarter with three fouls and was forced to sit on the bench for the rest of the half.

The effort and drive was present for the Tigers as they had many good looks at the basket, but very few points fell, and the ones that did came from the free-throw line. At halftime, the Bulldogs led 26-6.

The Tigers started the second half with a spark with Autumn Rivera and Sarah Pappas scoring four quick midrange jump shots to start the quarter.

“I think the big thing for us was keeping the positivity and realizing when we are down to pick each other up,” Scanlan said about what she told the team at halftime. “We tried to keep things as light as we can.”

Arredondo returned off the bench to inject Summit’s game with speed and intensity, which led to steals and defensive stops.

The Bulldogs eventually went on a run of their own, scoring three 3-pointers in a span of three possessions to extend the lead to 37-12.

This run by Moffat County and Arredondo picking up her fourth foul deflated Summit to its lowest point of the night.

With long, frustrated and defeated faces, the Tigers tried to find a way back into the game late in the third quarter, but shots continued to not fall for the team while the Bulldogs continued to score off blown defensive assignments caused by their fast-paced offense.

At the end of the third quarter, the Bulldogs led 40-19.

In the fourth, the Bulldogs put the game away for good, as Rylie Felten scored many baskets inside, and Emma Tucker continued to score long-range jumpers.

The Tigers looked exhausted as they attempted to keep up with the Bulldogs, who proceeded to rapidly pass the ball to find open players for more baskets.

Summit was defeated 54-24 to pick up its seventh loss of the season for a 5-7 record. The team was led by Rivera, Pappas and Arredondo, who did everything in their power to get something going for the Tigers.

“We missed a lot of shots, and unfortunately, they got super lucky and got a lot of their shots in,” Scanlan said. “They played really hard, and even in the third quarter, they really pulled it together, and we were back in it. But unfortunately, (Moffat County) made a couple threes in the third quarter, and that’s when it kind of went downhill from there.”

The Tigers will play two more games at home this week when they take on back-to-back league opponents in Palisade and Rifle. Walker Burns is expected to be back coaching the Tigers in those matchups.

“We are going to focus on more press stuff and getting our post ready to go against Palisade, who is usually a taller team in general,” Scanlan said about the work that will be done before playing Palisade.

“We just need to watch film, realize our mistake and then move forward!” Rivera wrote in a text message after the game. “The good thing about losing a game is now the only way is up.”

The Tigers will play Palisade, 2-9, at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21.