ARVADA — Amy Bahl stepped way from coaching high school basketball after winning back-to-back Class 4A girls basketball state championships in 2017 and 2018 at Evergreen High School.
She’s back.
Bahl has taken over the helm of Ralston Valley’s girls basketball program this season after longtime coach Jeff Gomer retired after the end of last season. Gomer coached 19 years at Ralston Valley racking up 351 wins with the Mustangs.
“I’m part of this community. I live like 4 minutes up the road,” Bahl said of why she wanted the job at Ralston Valley. “My kids will eventually go here. I’m apart of this community.”
Bahl finally got to coach her first home game Tuesday night against Arapahoe. The Mustangs used a 24-point second quarter to grab the lead to eventually take a 54-47 victory over the Warriors.
“That was exciting,” said Bahl who did continue coaching at the club level during her hiatus from high school. “It was fun to be at a home-court gym with the crowd, energy and high school girls.”
Ralston Valley (6-2 record) extended its winning streak to four games with the final victory before Winter Break.
“It feels good,” Ralston Valley senior Finley Timon said of the first home win of the season. “We had a bunch of pressure on us being the first home game. We had a lot of the community come out for us. We wanted to impress for them.”
Timon was impressive in the fourth quarter. The senior scored eight straight points for the Mustangs over a 5-minute stretch in the fourth quarter. A defensive block on one of the court by Timon led to her second 3-pointer of the quarter with 3:15 left in the fourth quarter, extending Ralston Valley’s lead to 49-41.
“Fourth quarters are big, especially against teams like Arapahoe who know how to play in the fourth quarter under pressure,” Timon said. “That is when you have to hit shots and knock those down.”
Junior Sophia Sabus sealed the victory for the Mustangs going 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the final minute to hold off a rally by Arapahoe (4-4).
“All our points were tough points. Nothing was easy,” Bahl said. “The girls stepped up and made some big shots tonight. It was a good flow with efficient shots.”
Sabus finished with a team-high 20 points with 15 points coming in the first half. Ralston Valley had four different players — Elyssa Cardella, Ciana Wilder, Hannah Gruber and Margot Mulhern — make baskets in the third quarter.
Wilder finished with 9 points and 9 rebounds. Mulhern had 6 points and 8 rebounds to help the cause.
“I think there are a lot of girls who are capable of a lot of things,” Bahl said of her team. “We want to use them because you are a lot easier to guard when you just use one (scorer).”
Timon echoed the same sediments.
“We want eight scoring players throughout the team,” Timon said. “Everyone contributes and own their roles. That is what matters.”
Ralston Valley returns after the Winter Break with a home game Jan. 4 against Cherry Creek (7-1). The Bruins are No. 3 in this week’s CHSAANow.com Class 6A girls basketball rankings.