Don Bavor saw in D’Evelyn what he envisions the Palisade High School girls’ basketball program becoming.

But the Bulldogs aren’t there yet.

Palisade lost 60-27 to the Jaguars, the second-ranked team in Class 4A, in its opening game in the Palisade Winter Classic on Thursday.

Bavor, only seven games into his tenure with the Bulldogs, aims to be just like the Jaguars one day and that starts with the right mindset.

“We’re here to promote change, and the girls are working really hard and giving their best effort,” said Bavor, who played high school basketball for Delta. “...We talked before the game that we can control what we control. We made a list of 40 different things that we can and can’t control, and there were only three or four things that we can’t control.”


Palisade scored the first basket of the game before D’Evelyn embarked on a 9-0 run. The Jaguars led 29-14 at halftime.

The Bulldogs continued to waver in the second half, scoring 13 points in the final two quarters.

D’Evelyn (7-0) made eight 3-pointers to Palisade’s three and had only eight players dress.

Bavor wants to see growth and improvement while building his program at Palisade. And although Thursday’s result was far from ideal, he did see improvements and adjustments from the team.

“That’s one of the best teams in 4A. We had them on the ropes for a while. We scored first and we were only down a couple after the first quarter … They hit some 3s in the second half and free throws, but I liked our aggressiveness,” Bavor said. “In that first quarter we were giving up the middle too much. But from there, we called a timeout and played better defense (in the paint) and kept them to the outside.”

The Bulldogs (2-4) have two seniors on the roster and eight underclassmen.

One of the standout players has been Addie Ritterbush, a sophomore. Ritterbush didn’t play much last season because of an injury and is flourishing on the court. She entered Thursday averaging 12.8 points per game and had 10 points in the loss. Chloe Simons also scored 10 points, including two 3s.

More players will need to step up for Palisade to improve and some already are. Freshmen Lyla Lancaster, Sadie Bunker and Lexi and Lili Taylor are already carving out key roles.

“The Taylor twins are great ball-handlers and have a great shot,” Ritterbush said. “...I think we’ve changed a lot and we’re going to continue to grow … I think we just need to keep working hard, playing as a team and doing what our coaches say.”


Bavor agreed that the growth will come, and the Bulldogs will have a chance to end their four-game losing skid today against Grand Junction.

“These girls are going to go out there every day and work hard. We told them to learn from this, flush it and get ready for tomorrow,” Bavor said. “We’re gonna be good, we’re gonna be a team to contend with in the Valley over the next few years and at the state level as well. We’re starting three freshmen, a sophomore and a junior … these girls support each other, and that’s a tough dynamic to handle.”
