Dove Creek beats Ouray 50-17, largest margin, improves to 13-8

Dove Creek posted a decisive 50-17 victory over the Ouray Trojans at home on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, a 33-point margin that represented the Bulldogs’ largest winning margin of the season. With the win, Dove Creek broke a three-game losing streak and "moved their record to 13-8," while "Ouray extended their losing streak to eight on Friday, dropping them down to 3-18."

Senior leadership defined the night for Dove Creek. "Dove Creek had a senior duo take command as Taylor Hampton dropped a double-double with 18 points and 22 rebounds and Hadley Hatfield earned 14 points in addition to six steals and five assists." Hampton’s performance included more than boards and points; she "is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in each of the last 27 games she's played dating back to last season." Forward Ambryn Huffaker contributed six points.

Ouray showed pockets of resistance but couldn’t close the gap. Mikayla Hirt scored nine points and added three steals, and Charlie Murch posted eight points and seven rebounds. As MaxPreps noted, "Ouray lost despite a true team effort on offense." The Trojans had met Dove Creek earlier this month and "also lost their prior matchup 54-24 on February 3rd," a pattern that continued in the Feb. 20 meeting.

The win reinforced a pattern of lopsided Dove Creek results this season. According to postgame tallies, the Bulldogs have "now won seven matchups by 22 points or more this season," a run that makes the Feb. 20 33-point margin their season high. The original game recap fragment was truncated in one source but the compiled records support that this was the team’s largest margin to date.

Local league context adds texture to Dove Creek’s late-season picture. The-Journal recounts a recent Dolores victory over Dove Creek — Dolores 32, Dove Creek 30 — in which "Dolores senior Taylor Erautt made a turnaround jumper with 30 seconds left in the back-and-forth battle with Dove Creek, lifting the Bears to their first win over the Bulldogs since 2017 and snapping a 17-game skid." The-Journal also listed Dove Creek tied with Dolores at 12-7 (6-3) in league play in pregame standings, a figure that predates Dove Creek’s Feb. 20 result and differs from the postgame 13-8 overall mark.

Looking ahead, schedules diverge in the available reports but point to immediate tests. "Looking ahead, Ouray will head out to take on Caprock Academy at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday." As for Dove Creek, MaxPreps shows the Bulldogs will "welcome Ridgway at 4:30 p.m. on Friday." The-Journal noted Dove Creek would "face Mancos on Tuesday night in Bluejay Fieldhouse before finishing the regular season with home games against Ouray (Feb. 20), James Irwin (Feb. 21) and Ridgway (Feb. 27)," and that both Tuesday and Thursday league games will air on KRTZ 98.7 FM and at krtzradio.com. The Feb. 20 result offers Dove Creek momentum and a senior-led formula to carry into those remaining matchups.