St. Mary’s watched for eight minutes as Ignacio got cozy in the Pirates’ home and swiftly turned into the annoying houseguest.

The Pirates then kindly escorted the Wildcats out of their gym, and the playoffs, Saturday night.

St. Mary’s, the No. 6 seed, overcame a cold start on offense in the Sweet 16 and earned a 45-38 victory against No. 22 Ignacio to secure a spot in the quarterfinals, which begin March 7 at the University of Denver.

“It’s always great to win no matter how it goes, but it’s a little sweeter when you have to fight that hard for it,” St. Mary’s coach Caleb Strickland said. “They made us work. They’re a tough physical team and they played hard from start to finish. Our girls had to grind it out in this one.”

The Pirates seldom lose at home and boast a 99-4 record at St. Mary’s since 2014-15.

St. Mary’s has not lost multiple games on its home court since 2013-14 when it finished 6-3.

The Pirates were 9-1 at home this year. But phew, they had to work for that ninth victory.

Ignacio started the game on an 8-0 run and closed the first quarter ahead 14-2 – just the second time the Pirates trailed by double figures at home this season.

St. Mary’s also shot 7% from the field on 1-of-14 shooting in the first and went 0 for 2 on free throw attempts.

“After the first quarter, we talked through the bad start and how the energy level and urgency needed to change,” Strickland said. “I told them, ‘If you don’t turn it around, the season is over. You have 24 minutes left to make something happen.’”

The Pirates heeded their leader’s advice.

After the Wildcats scored 14 in the first, they never reached double digits in a quarter the rest of the game.

This allowed the Pirates to cut the lead to 21-16 at halftime and, after they snagged the advantage in the third, took a 32-30 lead into the fourth.

“Bringing up the energy was the most important thing,” Maeve Salveson said. “I think that’s what carried us the rest of the way and allowed us to score.”

Salveson scored 8 points in the second and finished with 14 for the game, but the Wildcats offered the Pirates senior little space all night.

Salveson either faced double teams when she caught the ball or dealt with a Wildcats player in her face even during breaks in gameplay.

The Pirates needed another player to shoulder the offensive load as St. Mary’s leading scorer faced a rugged Wildcats defense.

Enter Pirates sophomore Jaela Pedro.

Pedro hit back-to-back buckets in the third to give the Pirates the lead and scored 8 of her 18 points in that frame.

After the Wildcats took a 33-32 lead in the fourth, Pedro ensured it was brief and knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key to build a 35-33 lead with 6:30 left in the game.

The Pirates never trailed again.

“Once the intensity on defense picked up, I feel like I got my offensive motivation back,” Pedro said. “I try to keep the mindset of, keep moving forward and forgetting my mistakes. Eventually I’m going to have to forget them anyway because the game keeps going.”

Pedro started the game 0-for-4 from the field and missed a pair of free throws in the first quarter.

The Pirates sophomore went 7-for-10 on field goals and 2-for-4 at the line the remainder of the contest.

“That was huge for us,” Strickland said. “If she doesn’t get going and if Maeve doesn’t start knocking down threes, we don’t win. We’re asking Jaela to play like a junior or senior in the postseason and she is stepping up. She had a huge game for us (Friday) and another one (Saturday.)”

The Pirates closed the game on a 10-5 run to clinch their spot in the quarterfinals. St. Mary’s will head to Denver to face No. 3 Grand Valley in the Great 8.

20-win club

St. Mary’s girls basketball program continues to thrive. The Pirates have nine, 20-win seasons since 2014-15. Excluding the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, St. Mary’s has not won fewer than 20 contests since 2013-14 when they finished 16-9 and lost in the Sweet 16.

Season       Record     Playoff result

*2023-24    20-4          Advanced to quarterfinals

2022-23      21-6          Lost in semifinals

2021-22      20-5          Lost in quarterfinals

**2020-21  13-3          Lost in Sweet 16

***2019-20 24-1         Advanced to semifinals

2018-19      26-1         State champions

2017-18      26-1         State champions

2016-17      21-4         Lost in the quarterfinals

2015-16      20-4         Lost in Sweet 16

2014-15      21-3         Lost in Sweet 16

*In progress

**Season shortened due to COVID-19 pandemic

***Season not completed due to COVID-19 pandemic

St. Mary’s Maeve Salveson cuts a piece of the net after the Pirates’ 45-38 victory in their Sweet 16 matchup against Ignacio at St. Mary’s High School on Saturday.

Photos by MARCUS HILL, The Gazettemarcus.hill@gazette.com
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St. Mary’s coach Caleb Strickland talks with players while watching a Pirate shoot a free throw in the fourth quarter Saturday against Ignacio.

MARCUS HILL, The Gazettemarcus.hill@gazette.com
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St. Mary’s High School’s Aylin Luna Zamora (30) guards Ignacio’s Darlynn Mendoza as she crosses half court in the second half of their Sweet 16 playoff game Saturday at St. Mary’s High School.

MARCUS HILLmarcus.hill@gazette.com
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