CHSAANow

Month: February 2017

  • Valor Christian girls hoops grabs upset win over No. 9 D’Evelyn

    Valor Christian senior Tess Boade, far left, battles for a rebound with D’Evelyn junior Angi Reed and sophomore Tori Szathmary. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    DENVER — Two-time defending Class 4A girls basketball state champion Valor Christian wants to let everyone know the Eagles are still hanging around.

    The Eagles (11-8, 6-4 in 4A Jeffco) scored a quality 46-44 win Saturday night against D’Evelyn, ranked No. 9 in the CHSAANow.com 4A girls basketball rankings.

    Valor senior Mary Newland had her second consecutive strong game against a 4A top-10 team this week. Newland had a season-high 25 points in a 3-point victory against Golden on Wednesday night. She followed that up with 17 points against D’Evelyn.

    A basket in the paint by Newland gave Valor a 45-41 cushion late in the fourth quarter.

    D’Evelyn senior Jill Smith had a team-high 16 points for the Jaguars. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “That play was huge,” Valor coach Jessika Caldwell said of Newland’s basket in the paint with just more than a minute to play.

    D’Evelyn junior Angi Reed scored on a driving layup in the final seconds to cut the lead to two points, but it wasn’t enough. The Jaguars (13-6, 5-5) have now lost three of their last four conference games in the tough 4A Jeffco League.

    “We’ll have four more, just like tonight,” D’Evelyn coach Chris Olson said of the difficult conference. “If it doesn’t pay off in the playoffs you’ve missed out on a great opportunity.”

    Caldwell agrees that playing in 4A Jeffco provides an advantage when the playoffs begin in a few weeks.

    “I think our league is so strong from top to bottom. Everyone can compete,” Caldwell said. “I think it will continue to help us learn how to play in close games and compete against the best.”

    While No. 2 Evergreen (17-1, 9-1) and No. 5 Golden (16-3, 8-2) appear to be in a two-team race for the 4A Jeffco title, D’Evelyn and Valor will have a say in the final outcome.

    Valor hosts Evergreen next Saturday. D’Evelyn faces off against Golden in the final night of conference play Feb. 16. Evergreen and Golden have their league rematch Tuesday at Golden High School.

    D’Evelyn senior Angi Reed, right, looks to pass the ball. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “One of the things I’m learning about our league this year is every team is really hard to score against,” Olson said. “It’s a really tough league to try to score points and I think we get a little frustrated mentally. It throws us off.”

    D’Evelyn senior Jill Smith had a team-high 16 points in the loss against Valor. Shooting 9-of-21 from the free-throw line was disappointing for the Jaguars.

    “Trust me, we are practicing them,” Olson said of the Jaguars’ struggles at the free-throw line in league games. “It’s just hard to put them in a pressure situation in practice.”

    Valor has now won three straight heading into the stretch run of the regular season.

    “Our girls have been fighting all season. Our record doesn’t necessarily show that,” Caldwell said. “We’ve been coming away with 6 and 8-point losses. It comes down to one or two possessions.”

    It could be a wild final two weeks of the regular season in 4A Jeffco.

    D’Evelyn junior Bailey Marvel (15) passes the ball during Saturday’s 4A Jeffco League game. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • No. 2 Valor Christian boys hoops wins 4A huge showdown against No. 3 D’Evelyn

    Valor senior Jalen Sanders (22) takes a jumper in front of D’Evelyn’s student section. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    DENVER — Valor Christian took the inside track to the Class 4A Jeffco League title Saturday night.

    The Eagles, No. 2 in the CHSAANow.com 4A boys hoops rankings, not only avoided a 2-game sweep against rival D’Evelyn, but took a one-game lead in the competitive conference with four league games remaining.

    Valor (15-4, 9-1) grabbed a 74-55 road victory at No. 3 D’Evelyn (15-4, 8-2). It was a bit of revenge for the Eagles, who suffered a 10-point home lost to the Jaguars back on Jan. 11.

    “That was our only loss in league,” Valor senior Jalen Sanders said. “We wanted to get revenge and show we are the best team in this league.”

    Sanders, who led the Eagles with 16 points, added that he thought it was the most complete game Valor has played this season. Valor jumped out to an early 11-0 lead in the first four minutes and pushed its lead into the 20s by the second half.

    D’Evelyn’s Charles Dinegar (0) attempt to block the shot of Valor’s Keisan Crosby. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “We know we had to be a radically different team from what we were Jan. 11 because that team wasn’t good enough to win,” Valor coach Troy Pachner said of the loss to D’Evelyn nearly a month ago. “We won a big game today, but if we look past Wheat Ridge or Evergreen next week then all this is for not.”

    The biggest test left in league for Valor will be a road game versus Evergreen (15-4, 8-2) at 7 p.m. on Friday.

    While D’Evelyn has an uphill battle and will need some help to grab the conference title, the Jaguars’ focus is forward.

    “Just because you lose one night doesn’t mean you quit,” D’Evelyn coach Dan Zinn said. “We have a long way to go. We are still in great shape. We need to continue to build and grow. This is not a stopping point for us by any means.”

    D’Evelyn closes out its conference schedule with some key games against Green Mountain and Golden in a few weeks.

    D’Evelyn senior CJ Olson led all scorers with 22 points, but he did most of his damage going 12-for-12 from the free-throw line. The Jaguars made just three 3-pointers as Valor’s defense focused on not allowing D’Evelyn to get open looks from beyond the arc.

    “In our two years together we have kind of gone through a growth process understanding what it is to defend and how essential it is,” said Pachner, who is in his second year at Valor after heading D’Evelyn’s basketball program for over a decade. “With our physical advantages and length we had to commit defense first. We aren’t just going to let teams shoot the 3-ball.”

    D’Evelyn’s Josh Brinkerhoff (2) dribbles past Valor’s Karsten Michael. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Valor had a balanced scoring attack with senior Karsten Michael (14 points), Keisan Crosby (12), Dylan McCaffrey (11) and Kayle Knuckles (10) all joining Sanders in double-digit points.

    “We played great from the first quarter out until the fourth quarter,” Sanders said. “I think everyone contributed when they got on the court.”

    One unexplainable fact since Pachner left D’Evelyn for Valor is the teams have split their four meetings with the visiting team winning on the road in all four games over the past two seasons.

    “Apparently we like it over there (Valor) and they like it over here,” Zinn said. “I don’t know why it works that way. It’s interesting for sure.”

    Pachner agreed and had high praise for his former team.

    “D’Evelyn has five guys who can go off for 20 points,” Pachner said. “They are going to make a lot of noise and be really good in the tournament. Coach Zinn does a heck of a job with them.”

    Valor senior Davis Wilson (21) has his shot contested by D’Evelyn’s Alec Clifton (10) and Jason Gardner (11). (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • Ralston Valley girls hoops win-streak at 17 after victory versus Pomona

    Pomona senior Abriana Ramirez is surrounded by Ralston Valley defenders Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    ARVADA — Ralston Valley girls basketball coach Jeff Gomer has been stressing the process more than the Mustangs’ current winning streak.

    “I don’t care about that thing up there (scoreboard),” Gomer said after Ralston Valley extended the longest winning streak in Class 5A to 17 games Friday night at Pomona High School. “We have to keep pushing and stay sharp. The first half (tonight) we didn’t do any of the little things it’s going to take to win in three weeks.”

    The Mustangs led Pomona 37-14 at halftime, but Gomer clearly wasn’t pleased with the first-half performance.

    Ralston Valley senior Ashley Van Sickle (5) races up the court. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “Gomer got a bunch of gray hairs tonight. We need to take it easy on him,” Ralston Valley senior Ashley Van Sickle said. “He got on us pretty hard at halftime. We reacted well. We played good as a team and like we should be.”

    Ralston Valley went on a 25-0 run in the third quarter on the way to cruising to a 76-33 victory.

    “We just realized we had to pick it up and do the little things right,” Ralston Valley senior Chloe Gillach said. “We needed to play as a team. That first half we were playing for ourselves too much.”

    Ralston Valley’s four seniors — Van Sickle (19 points), Gillach (13), Michaela Shaklee (13) and Sarah Bevington (12) — all finished in double-digit points. Gomer took out his starters with six minutes to play.

    With four conference games remaining, Ralston Valley (17-1, 10-0 in 5A Jeffco) is closing in on the league title. The Mustangs have a 2-game lead on No. 9 Lakewood and 3-game lead on Bear Creek. Ralston Valley has a clear path to the conference title having already swept the 2-game series against the Tigers and Bears.

    Ralston Valley faces Chatfield and Dakota Ridge next week before an intriguing non-conference game against No. 8 Cherry Creek on Saturday, Feb. 11, on the Mustangs’ home court. The Bruins and Mustangs clashed at the Fairview Tournament in early December. Ralston Valley scored a 14-point victory in the first meeting.

    Ralston Valley senior Michaela Shaklee had a dozen points in the 3rd quarter. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “Like Gomer always says, we are trying to do the process to be where we need to be in the end,” Gillach said. “For the Creek game we definitely need to be ready and focused.”

    Gomer added timing of the game against the Bruins is “perfect” heading into the final week before the postseason begins.

    Pomona (6-13, 4-6) entered Friday’s game sitting in the middle of the pack in 5A Jeffco and 38th in the RPI standings. The Panthers must stay in the top 48 to earn a bid to the 48-team state tournament that begins Feb. 21.

    “We are trying to make a run in the playoffs this year, that’s our ultimate goal,” said Pomona senior Ashley Madden, who had a team-high 18 points for the Panthers in the loss. “We are going to come out next week, get a couple of wins, and make a run.”

    Madden, who signed this week to continue her basketball career at Colorado Mesa University, could make the Panthers a tough out in the playoffs. The senior guard is averaging 21 points per game. Fellow senior Julia Trujillo, who signed with Los Angles Southwest College, is averaging more than 17 points per game for the Panthers.

    “It’s so sad,” Van Sickle said of playing against Madden for likely the final time. “She is an amazing player. I’m so honored to have played against her all these years.”

    Madden had the same kind of admiration for Van Sickle, who will continue her basketball career at Montana State University.

    “Ashley is an incredible player. Every time I get to play against her it makes me a better player,” Madden said. “We are just out her battling and having fun.”

    Pomona senior Ashley Madden (2) and Ralston Valley senior Ashley Van Sickle (5) are two of the top guards in the state. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • Photos: No. 2 Monarch and No. 3 Ralston Valley tie in hockey

    ARVADA — In a battle of top-3 teams, Monarch and Ralston Valley hockey skated to a 2-2 tie on Friday night.

    Brendan Van Haute and Sal Pisciola each scored for No. 2 Monarch. Ian O’Kelly and Michael Atwood scored for No. 3 Ralston Valley.

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  • Photos: No. 8 Holy Family girls basketball tops Berthoud

    BROOMFIELD — No. 8 Holy Family girls basketball got a 51-41 win over Berthoud on Friday.

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  • Photos: Legend boys hoops gets hot in overtime to beat Regis Jesuit

    PARKER — Caleb Tamminga scored a game-high 21 points as Legend boys basketball shined in overtime to beat Regis Jesuit 59-48.

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  • Photos: St. Mary’s Academy nips Colorado Academy in girls basketball

    ENGLEWOOD — St. Mary’s Academy edged Colorado Academy in girls basketball on Friday, taking a 35-34 win.

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  • Photos: Hahm leads No. 8 Rocky Mountain Lutheran boys hoops over Cornerstone Christian Academy

    DENVER — Charlie Hahm scored 16 points as No. 8 Rocky Mountain Lutheran jumped out to a big lead and held on to beat Cornerstone Christian Academy 60-43 at Pepsi Center.

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  • Photos: Sievert powers Rocky Mountain Lutheran girls hoops over Cornerstone Christian Academy

    DENVER — Grace Sievert scored nine of her game-high 19 points from 3-point range in Rocky Mountain Lutheran’s 54-28 win over Cornerstone Christian Academy.

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  • Photos: Manitou Springs boys hoops runs away in second half to beat Salida

    SALIDA — Cole Sienknecht scored 19 points as Manitou Springs exploded in the second half to come away with a 55-30 win over Salida.

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