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Month: March 2014

  • 1A girls basketball Great 8 roundup: Norwood edges Kit Carson

    (Brock Laue)
    (Brock Laue)

    LOVELAND — Norwood, the No. 2 seed in the Class 1A girls basketball state tournament at the Budweiser Events Center, had a commanding 12-0 lead at the end of the first quarter over No. 7 seeded Kit Carson in the quarterfinals.

    The Mavericks looked like they might run away and hide from the Wildcats, but Kit Carson showed a lot of heart and took a 28-27 lead with 5:20 remaining. Norwood never lost its cool in an exciting 38-35 victory to advance to their first final four since 2012 when it finished as runner-up to Pawnee.

    Norwood held a 27-17 lead in the third quarter, but Kit Carson senior guard Brooke Crawford came alive. She was cold shooting in the first half with a mere three points, but ignited the Wildcats’ offense with 15 second-half points on an array of jumpers and drives.

    The Mavericks remained poised as Jordan Williams, the leading scorer this season for Norwood with a 16.9 average, buried 4-of-4 at the charity stripe in the final two minutes in a 13-point performance. Lucia Viukova, a skilled 6-foot versatile player with a good mid-range jumper, chipped in 3-of-4 free-throws down the stretch and scored 15 points.

    Norwood coach Greg King, also the head boys coach for the Mavericks’ playoff team, knew the matchup against Kit Carson wouldn’t be easy.

    “It’s a good thing we got off to a good, quick start, because we knew they were going to comeback,” King said. “At some time they were going to make a run, but I thought our kids, when we lost the lead the one time, they were resilient and we took the lead back. It was a good win for us.”

    Kit Carson will play Dove Creek in a consolation game Friday morning.

    Norwood, now 23-1 this season, moves on to face Eads in the final four Friday evening. Eads, 21-1, beat Dove Creek 56-26 on Thursday.

    “We knew it would be just like this,” King said about the hard-fought win over Kit Carson. “There are eight pretty good teams here.”

    Briggsdale 34, Idalia 33

    In the day’s first game, the Briggsdale Falcons led 19-10 at the half, but Reagan Shaffer and Idalia fought back to take a 26-25 lead into the fourth.

    Shaffer had 12 second-half points, but the Falcons’ Leilani Carrasco drained a winning jumper with two seconds left to lead Briggsdale to a 34-33 victory and a trip to the Final Four.

    The Falcons will take on No. 1-seeded Caliche in the semifinals.

    Eads 56, Dove Creek 26

    The Eagles were dominant and impressive throughout with leads of 26-12 at the half and 39-17 at the end of the third.

    Kailyn Lane (13 points), six-foot-one Tanaia Hansen (12 points), and Brittanie Newman (10 points), led a balanced attack for the Eagles.

    Eads has nine state titles in girls basketball, with its last crown coming in 2008.

    The Eagles will take on Norwood in the Final Four at 4:00 p.m.

    Caliche 69, Cheraw 32

    Caliche, the girls state title favorite, looked every bit as good as their hype with a dominant 19-0 start. The Buffaloes never looked back as they used all their speed, ball movement, and pressure defense to overwhelm the Wolverines and advance to the Final Four against Briggsdale.

    Four Buffaloes scored in double figures led by Jessica Taylor’s 14 points.

    The Caliche vs. Briggsdale matchup will take place at 7 p.m. on Friday.

  • Jackson’s layup at the buzzer sends Mesa Ridge into 4A girls title game

    BOULDER — A mad dash from end-to-end in the final seconds gave Mesa Ridge its first trip to a girls basketball championship final.

    Pueblo South Mesa Ridge girls basketball
    More photos. (Pam Wagner)

    Mesa Ridge senior Tiffani Jackson’s layup at the buzzer Thursday at the Coors Event Center in Boulder gave the Grizzlies a dramatic 40-38 victory over the defending Class 4A state champion Pueblo South Colts.

    “I knew we only had five seconds,” Jackson said when asked if she knew how much time was on the clock with the game tied at 38. “I figured I had about two seconds when I got the ball. I just went straight in.”

    The spectacular final play started when Mesa Ridge’s 6-foot-4 sophomore Kylee Shook blocked Pueblo South junior Sissy Hall’s shot from under the basket. Shook struggled offensively with just two points on 1-of-7 shooting, but her nine rebounds and final block were key.

    “No matter what else she (Shook) does she can play defense,” Mesa Ridge coach Jeff Beatty said. “If she wasn’t the defender she is I would probably sub a kid like that out, but she does so much on the defensive end for us. She affects so many shots.”

    After Shook’s block, senior Samantha Rudd grabbed the loose ball for the Grizzlies and fed it ahead to senior Gabby Purnell. Purnell, who finished with a team-high 12 points, stumbled as she crossed midcourt, but was able to feed a pass to Jackson near the free-throw line.

    Jackson released the uncontested shot just before the buzzer sounded and the layup kept Mesa Ridge perfect on the season with a 27-0 record heading into the title game.

    “It was so great, especially since (Pueblo South) beat us last year in the Great 8,” Rudd said. “We are so excited.”

    Pueblo South (24-3) was attempting to punch its second straight ticket to the championship game to defend its title.

    The first half was a struggle for the Colts. Not only did Mesa Ridge’s defense hold Pueblo South to 4-for-24 shooting in the opening half, but also senior Shannon Patterson picked up her third foul midway through the second quarter. The Grizzlies led 20-13 at halftime.

    Pueblo South Mesa Ridge girls basketball
    More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

    “We hit enough free throws down the stretch maybe and kept (Pueblo South’s) scoring down enough to overcome our lack of scoring today,” Beatty said. “We play fairly good defense ourselves. We pride ourselves on that.”

    Mesa Ridge’s trio of seniors — Rudd, Jackson and Purnell — all finished in double-digit points, combining for 33 of the Grizzlies’ 40 points. The Grizzlies were 14-for-20 from the free-throw line and held the Colts to 25 percent shooting from the field.

    “Our defense has been phenomenal this year,” Rudd said. “That is what has taken us to the championship game on Saturday.”

    Mesa Ridge plays in the 4A championship game scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, March 13, at the Coors Events Center in Boulder. The Grizzlies will face the winner of Valor Christian/Broomfield.

    Mesa Ridge defeated Valor Christian by a point earlier in the season and scrimmaged Broomfield this year.

    “It’s going to be a good game regardless of who we play,” Rudd said.

    Patterson’s 14 points led Pueblo South. The senior was in foul trouble the whole game. Patterson picked up her fourth foul with 2:41 left in the third quarter, but never fouled out despite playing the entire fourth quarter.

    “I know she (Patterson) has signed at Pueblo (CSU-Pueblo), but I think she could play D-1 if she wanted to,” Beatty said. “She is one of the best players in the state, regardless of classification. She has been special forever.”

    Pueblo South senior Kendra Jesik finished with 11 points and junior Jaylyn Duran pitched in eight points for the Colts.

    Mesa Ridge Pueblo South girls basketball
    More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

  • 2A girls basketball Great 8 roundup: Yuma beats Simla

    (Bill Sabo/CSU-Pueblo)
    (Bill Sabo/CSU-Pueblo)

    PUEBLO — This season is about unfinished business for the Yuma High School girls basketball team.

    A year ago, the Indians lost to Akron in the state title game and now they are on a mission to hoist that gold ball.
    Yuma took the first step in reaching that goal Thursday night.

    Caitlyn Murphy poured in a career-high 23 points, powering the Indians to a 69-47 win over Simla in a Class 2A first round state playoff game at Colorado State University-Pueblo’s Massari Arena.

    “I just want us to get to the state championship game, and I want to do everything I can to help my team get there,” said the 5-foot-10 Murphy about what motivated her against Simla. “Last year left a bitter taste in our mouths. We want to get to the state championship game and win. That’s what we worked all summer and all season for to reach that goal.”

    Yuma improved to 24-1 and advances to meet Peyton (24-1) in a semifinal game at 4 p.m. today. Simla dropped to 20-5.

    “I think it helped that we were here (at the state tournament) last year,” Yuma coach Mike Neill said. “It was a very good game in the first quarter, but we didn’t panic. We played good solid defense and we started getting the ball into our post players and they started scoring and we just did a great job of rebounding.”

    Simla led 15-14 after the first quarter, but Yuma regrouped and outscored the Cubs 25-10 in the second quarter. In the decisive second quarter, Murphy and Logan Hixon had eight points each.

    Yuma won a state girls basketball championship in 1997, but last year was the first time the Indians played in the state tourney in 15 years.

    “We are very hungry,” Neill said about his team’s mindset.

    Hixon added 15 points for the Indians, including three treys. Sam Kaatz (14 points) and Mikki Korinek (11) paced Simla in the loss.

    Lutheran 54, Paonia 37

    Chandler Sturms and Kaleigh Paplow scored 20 and 12 points, respectively, vaulting top-ranked Lutheran to the victory over Eagles.

    Lutheran (22-1) used an electric 20-7 third-quarter spurt to pull away from the pesky Eagles.

    “We weren’t surprised by Paonia’s effort and their execution,” Lutheran coach Mark Duitsman said. “At half we just thought half of their points came against the press and common sense said just take the press off. We eliminated their easy buckets and made it a half-court game and we extended our lead.”

    Paonia’s Morgan Hartigan had a team-high 14 points, while Carson Pipher finished with 10.

    Peyton 64, Hoehne 55

    The Peyton girls basketball team has a powerful offense and it was on display.

    The Panthers had three players in double-figures powering the Panthers to the win.

    Shelby Patterson had a game-high 24 points, while Emily Green and Victoria Goodman added 13 and 12 points for Peyton.

    The Panthers cruised out to a 36-22 halftime lead and then held off the Farmers in the final 16 minutes. Jordan Trujillo and Aspen Anderson had 13 points each for Hoehne and Cydney Kreutzer chipped in 12.

    Meeker 52, Akron 47

    Thanks to some clutch free throw shooting in the fourth quarter, Meeker was able to edge Akron.

    Meeker outscored Akron 10-6 in the fourth quarter and it made 8-of-11 free throws in the final eight minutes.

    Taylor Neilson had a team-high 20 points for Meeker and Sydney Hughes (13) and Piper Haney (10) also contributed to the win.

    Jordan Baer and A.J. Miller had 24 and 11 points in Akron’s loss.

  • Broomfield cruises past Valor Christian, into 4A girls championship game

    Broomfield Valor Christian girls basketball
    More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

    BOULDER — In the end, the Broomfield Eagles showed that they were every bit as good as their 26-0 record indicated.

    Broomfield cruised past the Valor Christian Eagles 67-46 Thursday night in the 4A girls basketball state semifinals to earn a match-up with the Mesa Ridge Grizzlies on Saturday.

    Valor came out firing on all cylinders in the first quarter, limiting Broomfield’s leading scorer Brenna Chase without a field goal in the period. Trailing by seven with seconds remaining in the quarter, Valor sophomore guard Madison McCoy drained a 3-pointer to pull her team to within four.

    But Broomfield soon hit their offensive stride, and also turned up the defensive pressure to build a 15-point lead going into halftime, which allowed them to control the tempo of the game through most of the second half.

    Broomfield Valor Christian girls basketball
    More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

    “We were going to put that little spurt together at some point,” coach Mike Corell said. “We had them a couple of times in the first half and then we gave up a couple of threes and let them back into it, but it’s a good group of kids and they’re happy to be (in the state championship game) but they also realize our job is not done yet.”

    Junior Nichole Lehrer led all scorers with 19 points, tying her career high. She finished shooting 100 percent from the field in what was arguably the best game of high school career. Her effort will give her team another shot at a state championship, something they had in their grasp last year before falling to Pueblo South in the semifinals.

    Getting to the state title game was always the goal for Broomfield, but they’re not allowing themselves to enjoy it quite yet. The players are treating their quest for a state championship as a job and until they’re able to hoist that trophy, they won’t let themselves punch out.

    “That Pueblo South game from last year has been in the back of everyone’s mind so we knew that no matter what happened we had to go out and play as hard as we could because it could be our last game,” Lehrer said. “Everyone on this team contributes just as much as everybody. There’s not one person that this team is about, it’s about the whole team.”

    Broomfield Valor Christian girls basketball
    More photos. (Kelly Thornburg/MVPSportsPics.com)

    Broomfield started the second half on a small run, before Valor was able to come alive and close the gap to 11. But that’s as close as Broomfield would allow Valor to get. They went on a big run themselves to increase the lead to 20 points in the third quarter, all but assuring their return to the Coors Events Center Saturday afternoon.

    They are now tasked with facing off against a team widely regarded to be every bit as tough as them in the Grizzlies. What the Eagles have in scoring ability in their back court, they lack in size when compared to Mesa Ridge.

    “We scrimmaged them at the beginning of the year and we’ve seen them play the last two weeks,” Croell said. “They’re certainly a lot taller than us, but that’s alright. There’s really not anybody that we’ve played this year that isn’t taller than us.”

    This will also be the last time Broomfield will play in the 4A state title game as they move into the 5A classification for the 2014-15 year. The Eagles won five consecutive state championships from 2007-11 and again played in the championship game last year.

    “(The players) don’t even think about it,” Croell said. “Every once in a while it starts coming up and they just blow it off and try to worry about this season first.”

    The Eagles and Grizzlies will tip-off in the 4A state championship game at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Coors Events Center.

    Broomfield Valor Christian girls basketball
    More photos. (Pam Wagner)

  • 1A boys basketball Great 8 roundup: Cheyenne Wells tops Norwood

    (Brock Laue)
    (Brock Laue)

    LOVELAND — The Cheyenne Wells boys basketball team had a day of firsts on Thursday at the Budweiser Events Center. Coach Matt Roberts had never experienced the state tournament. His players had never been on this stage, either.

    The Tigers understandably experienced some early jitters in a sloppy 9-5 first quarter lead, but settled down and seniors Matt Sanders and Dalton Renner took over in a 52-44 victory over No. 6-seeded Norwood in the Class 1A Great 8.

    Cheyenne Wells, the No. 3 seed, held a 22-17 halftime lead as Sanders, an ultra-competitive guard, had 12 first-half points.

    Norwood’s Morgan Rummel, a dynamite scorer, tallied 24 points and Cheyenne Wells struggled a bit with turnovers, but the Tigers’ firepower led to a 38-24 lead headed into the fourth. Cheyenne Wells sealed their final four appearance with poise at the charity stripe.

    “It feels great. I’ve never been to state as a coach and none of our players have,” Roberts said after the win. “We were pretty nervous coming in. We got this first one under our belts.”

    Sanders (23 points) and Renner (16 points) combined for 39 big ones as Sanders was effective slashing throughout.

    “Matt has to be one of the top two or three players in the state,” Roberts said about his leader. “He’s averaging over 20 a game, six rebounds, six assists, and shooting over 50 percent. He’s our team leader and sets the pace for everything.”

    “I’m a leader on my team and so I try to come through when they need me,” Sanders said. “We’ve been working hard all year. My whole team came through tonight. Everybody made big plays.”

    Renner was a difficult matchup for the Mavericks with his size, 6-foot-4, athleticism, displaying quickness and leaping ability, and length. He had six blocks Thursday.

    “Dalton actually wrestled last year,” Roberts said. “He’s doing a good job, averaging about 15 and 10 rebounds. (Sanders and Renner) are the heart and soul of this team.”

    Norwood will play Vail Christian in a consolation game Friday morning. Cheyenne Wells, 18-6 this season, will play No. 2-seeded Hi-Plains on Friday evening in the semifinals.

    “We play them every year in the regular season and it always comes down to the wire,” Roberts said about the Final Four showdown. “It should be a good game. I think both groups will look forward to it.”

    Hi-Plains 69, Vail Christian 54

    Hi-Plains opened with a 23-7 first quarter as 6-foot-4 Avery Marzolf scored 13. The Patriots cruised from there on, winning their 18th out of the past 19 games and clinching a spot in the semifinals against Cheyenne Wells.

    Marzolf finished with 24 points as Justin Miltenberger chipped in 15. Hi-Plains is now 21-2 this season. Game time is set for 5:30 on Friday evening against Cheyenne Wells.

    McClave 50, Holly 37

    A slow starting game, Holly led 21-20 at halftime, but the Cardinals took control with a 30-16 second half outburst as Taylor Geisinger went for 24 points and Gabe Longworth contributed 14.

    McClave will hope to upset the No. 1-seeded Caliche Buffaloes in the final four on Friday evening at 8:30 p.m.

    Caliche 70, Fleming 29

    The Buffaloes were equally as dominant as their girls team in the quarterfinals with a 70-29 thumping of Fleming as Caliche never trailed.

    Caliche boys have claimed seven state titles in the school’s history. They had a four consecutive title streak snapped last year as McClave won the crown.

    The Buffaloes will face McClave at 8:30 p.m. on Friday evening in the 1A game of the night.

  • 2A boys basketball Great 8 roundup: Peterson lifts Sanford

    PUEBLO — Clayton Peterson wasn’t about to let his team lose.

    The Sanford junior scored 15 points — all in the second half — lifting the Indians to a 71-57 victory over Simla in the first round of the Class 2A state tournament at Colorado State University-Pueblo’s Massari Arena.

    “I had been struggling and I just wanted to be confident in my shot,” said the 6-foot-1 Peterson, who made five 3-pointers to reach his point total. “My teammates were getting me the ball and this feels great.”

    Sanford ran its season record to 24-1. The Indians’ only loss was to Class 3A Alamosa 53-44. Simla dropped to (22-3). The Indians face top-seeded Ignacio (24-0) at 5:30 p.m. Friday in the semifinals.

    “I thought we played good defense and as far offense goes I thought we played pretty well,” Sanford coach Rhett Larsen said. “Clayton did shoot well and it feels good to get this win and still be playing for a championship.”

    Late in the first half, Sanford held a 22-17 edge, but Simla’s Kade Pyatt drained a 3-pointer from deep in the left corner with 6 seconds on the clock to get the Cubs within 22-20.

    The second half was a different story – for Sanford anyway, thanks to Peterson.

    Sanford stretched its lead to 34-24 on Peterson’s 3-pointer with 3:52 left in the third. He hit another trey with 2:20 remaining in the third pushing his team ahead 38-26.

    Unfortunately for Simla, Peterson didn’t cool down.

    Peterson drilled another trey from the top of the key, putting the Indians up 41-28 and he added another to give his squad a 47-33 edge with 6:45 remaining in the game.

    Griffen Peterson, Clayton’s cousin, also got in the act with a trey with 3:20 on the clock, giving the Indians their largest lead at 58-42.

    Chance Canty had a team-high 21 points for Sanford and Pyatt had 20 points in the loss for Simla.

    Ignacio 49, Sedgwick County 33

    The Bobcats used a strong second-half to outlast the Cougars.

    Holding a slim 27-22 halftime lead, Ignacio turned things up in the second half, especially on defense.

    Ignacio outscored Sedgwick 22-11 in the final 16 minutes, including only allowing three points in the final quarter.

    Adison Jones had a team-high 14 points for the Bobcats and made two treys. Tyler Woodhams and Chase Dunker had 10 points each in the Cougars’ loss. Dunker had his team’s only points in the fourth quarter on one field goal and one free throw.

    Akron 81, Meeker 64

    Brady Baer scored 40 points, leading his team to the win over Meeker.

    In addition to Baer, who became the all-time leading scorer in Colorado boys prep basketball, Jared Clarkson and Jordan Herder had 15 points each.

    Meeker was paced by Joe Newman and Jeremy Musgrave, who had 21 and 20 points.

    Lutheran 77, Holyoke 42

    From the opening second of the game, the Lions were roaring.

    Lutheran sped out a 24-13 lead in the first quarter and never looked back.

    The key for Lutheran was balanced scoring. Josh Clausen (19 points), Reilly Carew (15), Devon Holland (13) and Brendan Edgerley (12) fueled the Lions. Tito Fierro (13) and Logan Tharp (10) led Holyoke in the losing effort.

  • Photos: 5A girls basketball semifinals at CU

    BOULDER — The Class 5A girls basketball final four was held at the University of Colorado’s Coors Events Center on Thursday.

    Go to:

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    Regis Jesuit 58, Poudre 35


    Fossil Ridge 65, Grandview 54

  • Regis Jesuit girls one win from state hoops repeat after downing Poudre

    Regis Jesuit Poudre girls basketball
    More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

    BOULDER — Thursday night, Regis Jesuit put itself in position to win its second straight Class 5A state championship.

    Regis defeated Poudre 58-35 to advance to the championship game scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday, March 15, at the Coors Events Center in Boulder.

    It was a struggle at time for the Raiders. Regis (25-2) shot just 40.5 percent from the field and was 4-for-14 from 3-point range.

    Regis Jesuit Poudre girls basketball
    More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

    “I think it’s kind of good to get this one out of our system before the championship,” said Regis senior Justine Hall, who led the Raiders with 16 points. “We’ve just got to come ready. We started out kind of slow, but we were able to pull it out.”

    Regis never trailed, but it wasn’t until a 12-1 run in the third quarter did the Raiders push their lead well into double-digit points. Senior Jordan Molyneaux’s layup at the horn to end the third quarter gave Regis a 36-19 lead heading into the final quarter.

    Solid defense is what Regis leaned on. Poudre was forced into 24 turnovers during the semifinal.

    “When our shots are off and they aren’t falling we definitely pick it up with our defense,” Hall said.

    Hall, Anna Ptasinski (12 points) and Neffie Lockley (10 points) led the Raiders in scoring. However, Hall was just 2-for-9 shooting. She was much better from the free-throw line making 11 of 12.

    Regis’ second leading scorer this season, senior Diani Akigbogun, was limited to just six points on 2-for-7 shooting and fouled out with 2:08 left in the fourth quarter.

    “I think we had to rely on our defense because we didn’t have the focus we should have had preparing for the final four of the tournament,” Regis coach Carl Matte said. “If you would have told me Justine would have two hoops and Diani would have two hoops, and we still win by 20 points I would have told you, ‘No way.’”

    Poudre’s aggressive defense gave Regis headaches at times. The Raiders turned the ball over eight times in the first half while only scoring 24 points in the first 16 minutes.

    “I thought our defense was great. I thought our defense was the best in the state this year,” Poudre coach Curtis Glesmann said. “We showed it wasn’t a fluke against a really good team.”

    Regis Jesuit Poudre girls basketball
    More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

    Poudre did manage to outscore Regis 10-9 in the second quarter. Seniors McKenzie McDaniel and Myanne Hamm each hit a pair of 3-pointers in the quarter to help the Impalas cut the Raiders’ lead to under double-digits, 24-16, at halftime.

    Matte described the Impalas’ game plan as “terrific,” but didn’t mince words at halftime with his players.

    “I told them at halftime, ‘Guys, that first half was just miserable. You were just playing to play. Just do what we do,’” Matte said. “They started to calm down a bit.”

    Hamm scored all 16 points for Poudre (21-6) in the fourth quarter. She finished with a game-high 21 points. McKenzie McDaniel finished with 10 points for the Impalas.

    “Myanne is a phenomenal player. So are the twins (Ashley and McKenzie McDaniel),” Glesmann said. “They kept our spirits up when it got kind of rough.”

    The Raiders sealed the victory making 16 of 21 free throws in the fourth quarter.

    Regis will attempt to win its third state hoops state title since 2009. It will be the sixth appearance in a state championship game for the Raiders since 2006. Regis’ record in title games is 2-3.

    This version of the Raiders has lost only two games this season. Both came to out-of-state teams from Long Beach Poly (Calif.) and Incarnate Word Academy (Mo.).

    The defending state champions will face the winner of the last semifinal of the night, Fossil Ridge/Grandview.

    “We just want to come out here and play as hard as we can and do what we do,” Hall said about Saturday’s title game.

  • Fossil Ridge girls basketball advances to first title game in program history

    Fossil Ridge Grandview girls basketball
    More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

    BOULDER — The Grandview Wolves rode the wave of freshman Michaela Onyenwere to the state final four, but it was the senior leadership of Fossil Ridge’s Savannah Smith that would be their undoing.

    The Sabercats beat the Wolves 65-54 behind Smith’s game-high 23 points to put the Sabercats in their first state championship game in school history. They are set to face the Regis Jesuit Raiders on Saturday.

    Smith’s offensive output didn’t come easy as a slow start forced her to contribute in other ways for her team. She spread her herself out through every aspect of the game during the first half, pulling down three rebounds, dishing out two assists and even coming up with a big blocked shot as the Sabercats built a 29-22 lead at the break.

    “Savannah has kind of had that look in her eye since state playoffs started, that she didn’t want to go home,” coach Chad Salz said. “She put us on her back pretty much night in and night out and it’s been nice.”

    Fossil Ridge Grandview girls basketball
    More photos (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

    To pick up for the lull in Smith’s scoring, junior Brooke Pemberton scored 10 points in the first half which equaled her averages points per game on the season. Her 18 points complimented Smith’s second half performance. What makes Pemberton’s performance that much more impressive is that she had not practiced since the team’s elite eight win over Dakota Ridge.

    But as usual for Fossil Ridge, when one player is struggling to score baskets, the team will step up and rally together to advance toward their goal being the best team in the 5A class.

    “It was nice to see, we’ve kind of done that all year,” Salz said. “It always one or the other, it’s starting to take over games. One will do one quarter really well and so on. It’s a tough match-up for people.”

    The second half was when Smith finally found her groove. Shots starting falling and she came away scoring 17 points in the half to help her team advance. The key for her was to stay patient, allow her teammates to continue playing well and taking advantage of the shot opportunities she was given.

    “I tried to pick up my intensity (in the second half),” Smith said. “I always play better when I’m playing as hard as I can and playing fast.”

    Defensively, the key for the Sabercats was slowing down Onyenwere. She was held to five first half points which was essential for Fossil Ridge to build on their lead as the game progressed. Eventually, the Wolves were able to work their offense through Onyenwere in the second half, but it was too little, too late.

    “We watched tape and we saw that she was a really good player,” Pemberton said. “We knew it was important to keep her controlled and keep her off the glass so we could come out with a win.”

    The only thing now standing between Fossil Ridge and their first state title is arguably the best team in the state. Salz and his team will have a brief chance to enjoy their trip to the title game before having to face the reality of preparing for the Raiders.

    “You’ve got to beat the best to be the best,” Salz said. “We’ll have to talk to our recruiting coach and see what he saw. It’s a quick turnaround and we know we have our hands full.”

    The 5A state championship game will tip off at 3 p.m. on Saturday at the Coors Events Center.

  • Photos: Horizon baseball beats Standley Lake

    WESTMINSTER — Horizon notched its first win of the season with an 14-8 victory over Standley Lake on Wednesday.