CHSAANow

Month: March 2015

  • 1A girls Final 4 roundup: Sangre de Cristo plays basketball with style

    LOVELAND — The Sangre de Cristo girls basketball team has a trademark style. The Thunderbirds boast lavish black and royal blue uniforms. Nearly the whole team wears headbands. They love fist pumps. Oh, and they embrace winning. So much so that they are in the 1A state finals after a 60-48 Final 4 victory over previously undefeated Kit Carson (23-1) at the Budweiser Events Center.

    In a back-and-forth tussle from tip-off, the Thunderbirds spread their wings in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Wildcats 25-14 and sealing their first championship appearance since 1986. Sangre coach Brady Stagner, whose team lost in the 2A consolation finals two seasons ago, enjoyed the experience of the semifinals, but obviously enjoyed the victory even more.

    “I’m just relieved to be out of that, because that was a pressure game,” Stagner said. “From tip-off to buzzer, it was just full of pressure. I just loved the whole atmosphere. I thought it was a great high school basketball game.”

    While Kit Carson had their talented sister tandem of Micayla (16 points) and Aurelia Isenbart (13) on full display, the Thunderbirds were the superior team with every player making contributions.

    “We wore them down,” Stagner said. “We knew we had to wear them down. Those two big girls are as good as it gets. We worked hard to keep the pressure on them all night. Then, we hit free throws.”

    The coach’s daughter, Abbey, a 5-foot-11 forward, gave Sangre juice when they needed it with several and one opportunities, 15 big points in the paint, and a number of life giving fist pumps.

    “We had a team that came through big,” Stagner said. “Did she play big? Yeah, she played big, but so did Allie, so did Heather, so did Jenna, every one of them out there. We aren’t the most talented team, but we work hard as a team. That’s what’s gotten us here.”

    Allie Beiriger (16 points), Karleigh Cooley (13), and Jessica Berlinger (9) all provided balance to a Thunderbird offensive attack with five girls averaging at least 8.2 points this season.

    Sangre de Cristo (24-1) will be making their fourth appearance in the state finals. They won back-to-back crowns in 1984 (A-1 division) and 1985 (A-II) before losing 48-46 to Deer Trail (A-II) in 1986. The Thunderbirds face off against No. 4 seed Idalia (20-2) at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday in the title game.

    “We have a lot of mental toughness built up from the season,” Abbey Stagner said. “We’ve been looking forward to this since we were third graders.”

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    (4) Idalia 58 (8) Flagler 26

    The Wolves ended Flagler’s state championship dreams with a smothering at the defensive end of the floor as the Panthers’ leading scorer, Hailey Allison, only had 7 points. Flagler upset No. 1 seed Norwood on a wild buzzer beating three-pointer by Alexis Schults in overtime on Thursday, but Schults sat out with an injury against Idalia.

    The Wolves took advantage by blowing the Panthers out from the opening tip and sealing their first state championship appearance in program history. Susana Herrera led Idalia with 15 points and Denise Cano chipped in 10 in the Final 4 win.

  • 2A boys Final 4 roundup: Defense leads Sanford basketball to title game

    PUEBLO – Hard-nose in-your-face defense is trademark the Sanford boys basketball team.

    The Indians didn’t disappoint Friday night.

    Thanks a suffocating defense and Clayton Peterson’s 17 points Sanford came away with a 65-54 victory over Ignacio in a Class 2A semifinal game at Colorado State University-Pueblo’s Massari Arena.

    “We take pride in defense and it takes a great team effort when you have a bunch of good players to defend who have size and all that,” Sanford coach Rhett Larsen said. “I was real proud of our team the way they played (defense).”

    The Indians improved to 26-0 and will have the opportunity to capture back-to-back state championships when they meet top-seeded Resurrection Christian (25-0) at 7 p.m. Saturday.

    A year ago, Sanford finished the season with 26-1 record and claimed the school’s sixth state boys basketball title by beating Akron 58-53.

    “We just take one game at a time, and now we only have one game left,” Larsen said. “We are going to coach it the same way and just have the kids come ready to play.”

    The Indians clearly were up to Ignacio’s challenge.

    Peterson scored 15 of his points on five 3-pointers and he didn’t work alone. Miles Caldon (16 points), Adam Romero (13) and Griffen Peterson (11) all chipped in in Sanford’s balanced-scoring attack.

    “It’s important and crucial for us to be able to spread the ball around and have everybody who can shoot it,” Larsen said. “I thought we have good contributions from all our guys (Friday night).”

    Sanford built a 33-21 halftime lead and that advantage was too much for Ignacio (22-3) to overcome. Wyatt Hayes paced the Bobcats with 17 points on the strength of five treys. Ignacio’s Adison Jones had 14 points.

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    No. 1 Resurrection Christian 71, No. 4 Simla 60

    With a chance at history possibly slipping way, Resurrection Christian’s Tanner Ervin took matters into his own hands.

    The sophomore guard scored 10 of his 22 points in the third quarter, propelling the Cougars to the win over Simla in the other semifinal game.

    Resurrection (25-0) moves to play defending state champion Sanford (26-0) at 7 p.m. today. The Cougars are trying to make history by winning the school’s first boys state basketball title. A year ago, Sanford finished the season with 26-1 record and claimed the school’s sixth state boys basketball title by beating Akron 58-53. Simla’s record dropped to 23-3.

    “We were trying to do too many things too quick and when we started reversing the ball and making their big guys come out and guard a little bit, it just changed the whole game,” Resurrection coach Bruce Dick said.

    Holding on to a slim 34-33 halftime lead, the Cougars 22-5 third-quarter spurt spelled doom for Simla. Ervin had two treys in the barrage.

    “Coach got on us at halftime for not swinging the ball enough and I was just swinging the ball and coming off good screens that were set by our bigs,” the 5-foot-8 Ervin said. “They were doing all of it. I just spotting up and shooting the shot.”

    In addition to Ervin, Koby Bishop (18 points) and Luke Fick (11 points) also scored in double-figures for the Cougars. Cody Norris and Noah Scott each had 14 points in the loss for Simla.

  • Overland makes first appearance in boys hoops title game since 1990

    Overland Denver East boys basketball
    More photos. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    BOULDER — For the Overland Trailblazers, size conquers all — and when you have more than one big man capable of stepping up in big moments, good things tend to happen.

    That was the case in a hotly-contested, and above all, physical Final 4 affair in Boulder Friday night, as Overland defeated the Denver East Angels 72-52 to advance to the Class 5A boys basketball championship game Saturday.

    Things started off with a bang, with the guards on both sides finding space hard to come by down low. The refs were letting both teams play, and everyone was entering the lane at their own risk, including celebrated senior point guards Austin Conway and Brian Carey, who were matched up against one another for most of the night.

    “Both of them shot the ball pretty bad tonight,” said Overland head coach Danny Fisher. “I know Austin was pretty focused defensively, and I thought he missed some opportunities at the rim because he was playing so hard on defense. To see those two go at each other though was fun.”

    With neither team gaining much ground after one quarter, Denver East hung on to a narrow 13-11 lead.

    Even with the relative lack of whistles, Overland looked like they’d be in trouble when star center De’Ron Davis picked up three fouls early in the second quarter and was forced to sit the last three minutes of the first quarter and most of the second.

    Overland Denver East boys basketball
    More photos. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    With Davis unavailable because of foul trouble and Conway struggling to find his rhythm (he went 1-9 from the field in the first half), senior forward Ryan Swan stepped up and then some, going off for seven points in the second to help pump Overland’s lead to 35-27 at halftime.

    “We’ve been waiting for Ryan to kind of have a statement game for a long time because we knew we’d have to deal with some adversity like foul trouble, and he just didn’t blink,” said Fisher. “He stretched the floor, he made threes, he got steals, he got dunks, and he just played big in the paint. His versatility is what kept us steady when the big trouble got in foul trouble.”

    “Coach is always telling us we’re good without him,” added Swan, who finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. “We just have to believe in ourselves, and we did. We went out and just got the job done.”

    After not only surviving but thriving for much of the first half absent Davis, Overland got the big-man back for the third, and the six-foot-nine senior put his time on the court to good use, scoring six points and adding five rebounds plus two blocked shots in the quarter.

    On the night Davis finished the night with 16 points and 17 rebounds to go along with 5 blocks.

    “In the Centennial League, they double so hard, he’s looking for the double team even when it’s not there,” said Fisher. “His timing was off just a little bit, but this was a much better offensive game for him.”

    Without zero daylight down low thanks to the work of Overland’s big-men, Denver East junior guard Jack Buckmelter shouldered the scoring load for the Angels. Buckmelter drained a pair of threes in the third, and finished the night with 15 points. Thanks largely to his work, the Angels were still hanging around at the end of three, down 55-46.

    But Overland’s lead quickly expanded in the fourth. Conway finally got going, turning Angels’ turnovers into six fast break points in the final frame, and form there Overland only had to coast to what deceptively looked like a blowout victory.

    Despite the slow start, Conway finished with 10 points, but it really was Overland’s big men that turned the tide Friday. They’ll be forced to pick on somebody their own size Saturday as they try and win their first Boy’s Basketball Championship in school history. They’ll be facing off against the ThunderRidge Grizzlies and six-foot-ten center Zach Pirog.

    When considering tomorrow night’s matchup, Fisher ended the night with a preview basketball fans around the state are sure to echo:

    “Oh man,” said Fisher. “Can’t ask for more than that.”

    Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. at the CU Event Center in Boulder.

    Denver East Overland boys basketball
    More photos. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)

  • 1A boys Final 4 roundup: Holly and Fleming set to battle for basketball title

    LOVELAND — Casey Fletcher got in foul trouble. In fact, he didn’t even attempt a field goal until the final two minutes, but the Holly junior came through with a critical tiebreaking basket with 1:34 on the clock, giving the Wildcats a 36-34 lead in the 1A Final 4 at the Budweiser Events Center. His teammates did the rest in pushing Holly past Jim Elliot Christian 41-37 and into the state finals for the first time since 1951.

    After Holly (22-3) jumped on the Warriors 11-5 in the first quarter, Jim Elliot (22-3) muscled back in taking a 23-20 lead. Then, the Warriors kicked off the third quarter in style, taking a 32-22 lead over the No. 2 seeded Wildcats. Jim Elliot’s work on the glass with the Bogner brothers, Connor and Matt, and the team’s defensive ability in mostly smothering Holly’s explosive guards, allowed them to control the game in stretches.

    “They were in our face the whole night and they rebound,” Holly coach Dusty Heck said. “That is a hard rebounding team. We knew coming in that we had to box out and we struggled with it. That was the toughest game, rebounding-wise, that we’ve had all year.”

    Jim Elliot continued to apply heavy defensive pressure on the Wildcats, forcing Holly out of rhythm, and the Warriors took a 34-27 lead with six minutes remaining. That’s when the tide turned as those explosive Holly guards, Yaniel Vidal (10 points), Bryan Ortiz (12), and Sigi Avalos (8), finally got on track as they erupted for a 14-3 final run to seal the semifinals victory.

    “I’ve got Yaniel and Sigi,” Heck said. “They are sophomores and they don’t play like sophomores. Bryan has been playing with a torn ACL, MCL all year. The heart that kid has showed, wow. I truly believe Holly has three of the best guards in 1A.”

    “Our guards have the best handles and they all can shoot,” Fletcher raved.

    Of course, the trio got help from Fletcher as well as he corralled a blocked shot, then layed it in to give Holly the late lead.

    “He doesn’t shoot much for us, but it seems like when he does shoot it’s usually at a big point of the game,” Heck said of the timely basket. “It was a great, great team effort. Every single one of them believed. Even when we were still down they were saying, ‘we’ve got this, we’ve got this.”

    Holly not only got the win, but now they get a crack at winning a state championship in boys basketball for the first time since 1951, when they beat Sanford 42-38 in the smallest classification at the time, the B division. The Wildcats will face Fleming at 7 p.m. on Saturday in Holly’s second state finals ever.

    Connor Bogner led Jim Elliot with 13 points in defeat. Tanner Smith had 11.

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    (5) Fleming 55 (1) Sangre de Cristo 52

    The Wildcats ruined the Thunderbirds’ perfect season using clutch free throws down the stretch to pull out an exciting Final 4 showdown victory.

    Fleming (19-4) trailed 30-22 at the break, but made a few more plays down the stretch during a tense final few minutes as the teams traded constant leads.

    The Wildcats were led by Jaxon King, a sophomore guard who scored 16 points. Darian Wilening had 15. Fleming will be making their first ever appearance in the boys basketball state finals. They only have one senior on the team.

  • 3A boys Final 4 roundup: CSCS and Colorado Academy set for basketball showdown

    Colorado Academy Faith Christian boys basketball
    More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

    GOLDEN – It seemed like his team’s fate was just about sealed when Justin Bassey stepped to the free-throw line Friday night.

    Faith Christian’s boys basketball team led Colorado Academy by four points with 10.8 seconds remaining in the Class 3A state semifinals when Bassey was fouled. Instead of giving up hope though, Bassey and his teammates executed the gameplan exactly as it was intended.

    By twice intentionally missing the second of his free throws, the junior ended up with six attempts in the closing seconds. His last two attempts he knocked down to tie the game, and the Mustangs went to the foul line 17 more times in overtime as Colorado Academy stunned the top-seeded Eagles 73-67 at Lockridge Arena on the Colorado School of Mines campus.

    Colorado Academy (20-6) advanced to the 3A state title game for the second consecutive year and will take on Colorado Springs Christian at 7 p.m. on Saturday with a championship at stake.

    “It’s unbelievable. The way that game ended and playing against one of our biggest rivals … I think we were just stunned, almost in awe,” said Bassey, who finished with a game-high 27 points. “I’m still awestruck by how this game ended. I don’t think it’s really sunk in that we’re going to the finals again.”

    The Mustangs trailed their Metro League rival by nine points in the third quarter before working their way back into it. Still, after Faith Christian went up 56-52 with 10.8 seconds remaining, things looked bleak. But Bassey missed the second of his attempts from the line, and the tip went out of bounds to Colorado Academy.

    Bassey was fouled again, and once more missed the second of his attempts. He grabbed the rebound himself and was fouled for a third time.

    “Our plan was to make the first, miss the second,” Bassey said. “It was just a really great job in foresight by our coaches. I attribute it all to the guys who wanted the ball so much. We knew what we had to do and we got out there and executed it.”

    Faith Christian (23-3) had gone to overtime Thursday night against Jefferson Academy, and the Mustangs took advantage. With the Eagles in foul trouble, Colorado Academy went 11-of-17 from the line in OT. Christian Hyatt scored 11 of his 18 points in the extra session.

    “We felt like we had a lot of momentum, coming off those free throws and knowing the fact they had just played an overtime game the night before,” Bassey said. “We felt we had really strong momentum going into overtime and a lot of energy. Our bench did a really good job of hyping everyone up.”

    Peter Vukovich-Simonson and Will Creedon added 10 points each for Colorado Academy. Spencer Bazz paced Faith Christian with 16 points and Chance Bazz added 15, including four 3-pointers in the third quarter alone.

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    (2) Colorado Springs Christian 40, (3) Lutheran 31

    Colorado Springs Christian Lutheran boys basketball
    More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

    A year ago, Colorado Springs Christian came just one game away from playing for a state championship.

    Denied that opportunity, the Lions set out to make things right.

    Backed by a defensive effort that limited Lutheran to a season-low 31 points, Colorado Springs Christian pulled away down the stretch Friday night. The Lions advanced to the 3A state title game for the first time since 2008.

    “All the guys just worked their tails off for this moment,” CSCS sophomore Justin Engesser said. “All season, we just had that vision in our eyes just to go for it. We did tonight.”

    Colorado Springs Christian (25-1) lost to eventual state champion Holy Family in the 2014 state semifinals. The team hasn’t made it to the final game of the season since falling to Faith Christian in 2008.

    “We’re a competitive bunch. We want to win,” Lions junior Sam Howard said. “That left a bad taste in our mouths. We got embarrassed last year. We only lost by eight, but it was embarrassing … but I think we’ve learned from it.”

    Howard scored a game-high 16 points Friday, including all eight of his team’s points in the third quarter. Lutheran trailed by only one after James Willis opened the fourth with a bucket, but Lutheran went just 1-of-16 the rest of the way.

    Lutheran (21-5) averaged 64.2 points a game this season and its previous low was 49 points. The CSCS coaching staff told the team if it could hold Lutheran below that number, the chances of winning were good.

    “It was all our defense. I think they only scored four points in that last quarter,” Engesser said. “We shut them down and we got loose balls and ended up making big free throws.”

    Brandon Crocker led Lutheran with 13 points and Brendan Edgerley added 12.

  • Replay: State basketball championships in all classes

    The state basketball tournaments are all in action on Saturday with their respective championship games.

    Things kick off at 1 p.m. with 4A girls’ title game, and things only heat up from from there. We’ll have complete coverage throughout.

    Watch all games live: NFHS Network

    Brackets:

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    Live coverage

    Live Blog State basketball championships in all classes
     

  • Photos: 4A and 5A girls basketball’s championship games

    BOULDER — The championship games of Class 4A and 5A girls basketball are on Saturday at the Coors Events Center.

    Find photos from each game below.

    More coverage:

    Go to:


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    4A: (2) Valor Christian 73, (2) Sand Creek 47



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    5A: (1) Broomfield 47, (1) ThunderRidge 42

  • Valor Christian wins 4A in capturing first girls basketball title

    Valor Christian Sand Creek girls basketball
    Valor Christian won the 4A girls basketball championship on Saturday. More photos. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    BOULDER — The Valor Christian girls basketball team has supremely gifted scorers.

    Kendall Bradbury and Caroline Bryan, versatile 5-foot-10 forwards equally capable in the post and perimeter, and Madison McCoy, a knockdown shooter and distributor, capped off a nightmarish playoffs for the opposition with an impressive 73-47 blowout of Sand Creek (23-4) in the Class 4A state final on Saturday.

    The win at the Coors Events Center earned Valor (26-3) their first state championship in program history.

    Two days after Sand Creek’s defense seemed invincible in a 59-31 handling of Longmont in the Final 4, Valor outscored Longmont’s game total in the first half alone as they took a 38-29 lead. Those weapons knifed the heart of the Scorpions’ defense.

    Liah Davis, Sand Creek’s enormous 6-foot-2 post who dominated as an intimidating rim protector this season, was forced out of her comfort zone Saturday. The junior had to guard both Bradbury and Bryan.

    Bradbury got started inside with 11 of Valor’s first 13 points. Then, the tandem’s shooting touch forced Davis out to the perimeter and opened up the lane for the Eagles’ slashers. Valor moved the ball well and found their many deep threats burying 9-of-18 shots from beyond the arc.

    “I knew I had to start quick the whole tournament,” Bradbury said. “I had to get inside and get my rhythm that way first. Then, when I knocked down that three, I was just feeling it. When they switched Liah on me, Caroline was open. She took over in the post. I had to get going early and I knew the team could take it from there.”

    A small early lead turned into Valor drowning Sand Creek’s hopes as the Scorpions only scored 18 points after halftime.

    More than anything, Valor’s offense executed to perfection, just as they had throughout the state tournament.

    Valor Christian Sand Creek girls basketball
    More photos. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    “Our offense is designed for inside and out,” Valor coach Jessika Caldwell said. “One of our keys to victory was that we had to go inside in order to go outside. We wanted to get Kendall touches, we wanted to get Caroline touches. That’s what opened up the rest of the game for Heidi and Caroline and Madison from the outside.”

    The seniors Bryan (22 points, 16 rebounds) and Bradbury (20 points), after combining for 53 points in the Eagles’ easy Final 4 win over Pueblo West on Thursday, looked unstoppable again.

    Bradbury, averaging over 22 per game, and company also blistered Denver North 92-23, Windsor 70-25, Holy Family 53-37, and Pueblo West 87-64 in the playoffs during one of the more dominant postseason runs in recent memory.

    Valor certainly had motivation after losing to Broomfield 67-46 in last year’s state semis, and losing the Jeffco crown to D’Evelyn as the Jags won twice, once when Bryan was out with injury and once when Valor had to forfeit due to scheduling too many games. Plus, Valor earned a No. 2 seed in the state tournament after they felt a No. 1 was deserved.

    “When we figured out we were a two seed, I think coach was pretty upset,” Bradbury said. “She wanted to be a one seed. We just had that mindset that we wanted to destroy teams. We played our best team basketball when we needed to and it was so nice when we got Caroline back.”

    Valor proved its worth when it counted.

    “It’s just joy,” Caldwell, in her first season as the Valor coach after spending several years as a college assistant, said. “We just wanted to enjoy every moment. I believe our girls did that.”

    Heidi Hammond chipped in 16 points for Valor in the state finals. Madison McCoy had 13. Both players are juniors.

    Liah Davis finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds for Sand Creek. Moriah Ceballes scored 10.

  • Broomfield sends Croell out with 5A girls basketball title

    ThunderRidge Broomfield girls basketball
    Broomfield players surround coach Mike Croell following their 5A championship win. More photos. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    BOULDER — Broomfield senior Callie Kaiser went for a defensive steal with less than 20 seconds to play as if she was attempting to grab the Class 5A girls basketball state trophy.

    In essence, Kaiser’s steal which led to a pair of free throws with 19.5 seconds left sealed a 47-42 victory over ThunderRidge on Saturday at the Coors Events Center.

    “I knew we needed a stop right there,” said Kaiser, who finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds for the now six-time girls basketball state championship Eagles. “I just did what I needed to do. I knew I had to make the free throws too.”

    ThunderRidge was looking to connect on a 3-pointer with less than 30 seconds to play trailing 45-42 after Broomfield senior Brenna Fankell sank a pair of free throws with 56 second left. The Grizzlies weren’t able to get off a shot before Kaiser got the critical steal.

    ThunderRidge Broomfield girls basketball
    More photos. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    “I’m not sure where the trophy is at, we’ll hunt it down,” Broomfield coach Mike Croell said with an ear-to-ear smile as he held the game-winning basketball in his hands after the game. “The girls are probably dancing with it in there (locker room).”

    The Eagles (26-2) could celebrate the program’s sixth state title. This year was Broomfield’s first season playing in the largest classification.

    Broomfield sent Croell, who retired after Saturday’s game after a 20-year run guiding the Eagles, a state champion along with Broomfield’s stellar senior class that played in the 4A

    championship game in 2014 and advanced to the Final 4 in 2013 finished off its prep basketball career.

    “It means so much,” Fankell said. “Being Croell’s last year we wanted to win it for him and our seniors that are amazing.”

    It was the girls basketball championship game featuring two of the most successful programs in Colorado since the turn of the century. Broomfield dominated the 4A classification winning five straight titles from 2007-2011. ThunderRidge had an impressive stretch capturing three consecutive 5A trophies from 2003-2005.

    ThunderRidge and Broomfield actually squared off twice early in the season. In the span of a week back in December, the Grizzlies took victories of 62-53 and 47-45 in tournament games. It was the Eagles’ only two losses coming into Saturday’s title game.

    “All year long in the back of your mind you always kind of thought it would come down to us and ThunderRidge,” Croell said. “We always put that aside, but it came down to it. I was happy we were able to play and finish this time.”

    The first half was a story of runs and tight defense.

    ThunderRidge (25-3) opened up an early 6-1 lead, but Broomfield answered with a 7-0 run to take a brief lead. The Grizzlies responded with 8-0 run over a five-minute span to take a 17-7 lead.

    Despite shooting just 30 percent from the field in the first half, Broomfield closed the first half with a 12-2 run to tie the game, 21-21 at halftime. Kaiser scored nine points in the final three minutes of the second quarter to lift the Eagles. She hadn’t done much offensively for the first quarter and a half.

    “Before half she (Kaiser) saved us,” Croell said. “I pulled her aside during a timeout and told her, ‘You can’t play like this in a big-time state championship game. You’ve got to step up right now.’ The rest is history.”

    Kaiser’s run included making three free throws with .2 seconds left when she was fouled trying to get off a half-court shot before the buzzer.

    “I started out slow, but my teammates really built me up,” Kaiser said. “They helped me get going.”

    Freshman Delaynie Byrne proved to be a key X-factor scoring 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Junior Breanna Chase had eight points and Fankell finished with nine points and seven rebounds.

    ThunderRidge was led by juniors Taylor Rush (15 points and 11 rebounds), Jaz’Myne Snipes (10 points) and Alyssia Martinez (10 points). ThunderRidge had a rough shooting night going 13-for-44 for under 30 percent.

    Grizzlies coach Paula Krueger should have ThunderRidge back in the mix next season with a handful of juniors returning for their senior season.

  • 1A girls basketball Great 8 roundup: Flagler upsets Norwood

    LOVELAND — Every team has state championship aspirations. After a 7-12 record a season ago, the Flagler girls basketball players didn’t know if a title was realistic though.

    “At the start of this season, I told them I thought they could be in the state tournament and maybe even win it,” Panther coach Gary Elrick said. “Every one of them looked at me like I’m crazy.”

    After upsetting No. 1 seed Norwood (21-2), the defending Class 1A champions, on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Alexis Schults on Thursday morning at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, its hard not to believe. The win sent the No. 8 seeded Flagler (18-6) into the Final 4.

    “Adrenaline is going through me,” Schults said.

    The Mavericks scored the game’s first basket, but the Panthers clawed to a 10-2 lead early. They pumped the margin up to double digits soon after and led 27-16 at halftime, despite 14 points by senior wing Jordan Williams, the lone 1A participant in The Show, the annual Colorado hoops all-star event.

    Flagler smothered her teammates, though, holding them to 1-of-7 from the field. Schults, all of 5-foot-2, was an aggressive, dynamic force using her quickness and shot-making to score 13 points in the first two quarters.

    More than anything, the Panthers, making their first state tournament appearance since 2007, embraced the bright lights while Norwood seemed rattled with the weight of back-to-back titles on the line.

    The Mavericks had more turnovers (20) than points (16) at the break. But, Norwood made adjustments and made a run in closing the deficit to 39-33 headed into the fourth.

    In a wild last two minutes of regulation, the Mavericks found a way to tie it up and force overtime at 48 all after Macie Magallon made a pair at the line with 7.4 seconds left. Flagler didn’t get a shot off before the buzzer.

    In extra time, Williams scored all eight of Norwood’s points and the title favorites led 56-54, but she fouled out with 19 seconds to go. Elizabeth Grimes calmly knocked down both free throws to force another tie. Norwood was called for traveling the next possession, Flagler got the ball back, and Schults sent the Panthers into the Final 4.

    “She’s so explosive that she can change a game around in 20 seconds,” Elrick said. “Good players want the ball at the end and she took a nice shot.”

    Schults led the Panthers with 24 points. Jade Hasz went 16-of-18 at the line and scored 18 points. Flagler was money on freebies, going 25-of-32.

    The Panthers move on to the state semifinals Friday.

    Williams led all scorers with 34 points in the loss for Norwood. The Mavericks will have to settle for the consolation bracket the rest of the way.

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    (3) Sangre de Cristo 52 (6) Plateau Valley 38

    The Thunderbirds improved to 23-1 with an easy win over the Cowgirls as they led 12-6 after one and 22-14 at the break. Abbey Stagner led Sangre de Cristo with 16 points. Allie Beiriger chipped in 10.

    Sangre de Cristo will be making their first Final 4 appearance since 2010 when they face Kit Carson at 7 p.m. on Friday.

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    (4) Idalia 41 (5) Eads 31

    Idalia improved to 19-2 after a comfortable win over the Eagles (17-7). Susana Herrera led all scorers with 15 points as the Wolves held every Eads player to single digits.

    Idalia also reached the Final 4 last year, placing fourth after dropping the third place game to Dove Creek.

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    (2) Kit Carson 50 (7) Prairie 35

    In a game Prairie never led, the Wildcats’ sister tandem of senior Aurelia (13 points) and freshman Micayla Isenbart (24) applied constant pressure on the Mustangs with Aurelia’s work in the post and Micayla’s versatility as a 6-foot-1 guard.

    Kit Carson improved to 23-0 with the victory. They had reached three of the last four state tournaments, but this is the first time in the stretch they’ve made the Final 4.