The Aspen High girls basketball team (and the boys for that matter) christened the new AHS gym in style Friday night with a 71-17 rout of Kremmling’s West Grand High.

Though senior center Lizze Suiter saw little time in the second half, she led Aspen with 19 points in a season-opening onslaught where all 13 girls on the Skiers bench contributed.

“The girls were just so ready to play. Not only did we want to win, we wanted to look sharp,” said Aspen coach Lance Finkbeiner. “And we did. We played and we shot well.

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“And it could’ve been worse,” he said of the lopsided outcome. “We didn’t shoot threes very well.”

Senior Tara Walker, however, was a highlight reel from the perimeter, going 4-for-5 from 3-point land and finishing with 13 points on the night. Junior forward Leandra Sivess added nine points.

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Making an impact from the onset, freshman Carly Magill made her AHS debut with four points, plus five steals and six assists. “She’s a phenomenal defender too,” the coach said. “She’s going to get a lot of playing time. She’s brings a lot of energy to our team.”

Up next for Aspen is the annual Steamboat tournament, which runs Thursday to Saturday at Steamboat High School. Aspen opens against the Class 4A Steamboat on Thursday, then faces another 4A power in Conifer on Friday before tipping off with Class 3A Western Slope League rival Roaring Fork on Saturday.

“Steamboat and Conifer are both tough, 4A schools, and I think Roaring Fork is the toughest team in our league with Basalt. There’s no pressure because they’re not league games, but this will kinda define our season. It’s going to show us where we are, and I think we’ll be pleasantly surprised,” Finkbeiner said.

The coach pointed to his team’s newfound depth as one factor in their formula for success.

“We’re deeper than we have been in years, so we’re gonna play eight or nine girls every night, where in the past we’ve played six or seven.”