OURAY – Like their downvalley rivals in Ridgway, the Ouray High School girls’ basketball team is once again coached by a local legend. Ridgway has Steve Hill. Ouray has Bernie Pearce (who is also the school’s athletic director), who is heading into his 32nd year of coaching various Trojan teams. “This will be my 32nd year with track-and-field,” Pearce said. “I’ve coached cross-country 23 years with the girls, 26 years with the boys. And this will be my 23rd year as head girls basketball coach.”

According to Pearce, this year’s “girls realistically should be in the lower third of the nine-team San Juan Basin League. They will be a tenacious group that will live and die by their defensive effort. If the defense is ‘on,’ they will be in the game, and the other team will have to beat them, because they will not beat themselves.”

This is a hallmark of Ouray teams, which always work and play hard.

“This year’s credo is: we’re going to play five ways,” Pearce said. “One, play for fun; two, play with pride; three, play hard; four, play as a team; and five, play to win.”

Players to watch this season, Pearce said are senior guard/forward Geordyn MacDougall, junior post player Nicole Edder, senior post player Sara Martinez and junior shooting guard Lizzy Ficco.

Pearce also made a plea to the community to come out and volunteer at games. “We need paid volunteers (not an oxymoron) to do score clock, score book, gate and officiating for both middle school and high school games,” he said. “Training is available.” Call Pearce at the school: 325-4504.