Ralston Valley, Lakewood shooting for Class 5A title
For nearly a decade, Ralston Valley and Lakewood have dominated girls basketball in the Class 5A Jeffco League.
It’s been seven seasons since a team besides the Mustangs or Tigers won the league championship, and that trend is likely to continue this winter as both No. 4 Ralston Valley (6-1) and No. 5 Lakewood (7-2) look like state title contenders.
But as the teams prepare to face each other in a league opener Jan. 4, their identities are still very much in flux.
New-look Ralston Valley, the defending Jeffco champion that has made it to the Great 8 for three seasons running, has transitioned from a guard-oriented model of old into a tall, physically imposing team whose starting lineup averages 6-foot-1.
“We’ve been a man-to-man team basically since I’ve been here, but now we’re playing a ton of zone and still learning with that,” Ralston Valley coach Jeff Gomer said. “And we’re not shooting the three ball like I thought we would based off this summer. If we can get that inside-outside balance and improve defensively, we should be pretty good.”
Senior forward Delaynie Byrne is averaging 18.6 points per game.
The Mustangs’ only loss this season was a 48-45 setback to No. 2 Grandview in the season opener Dec. 1. That game proved Ralston Valley has the grit to take down a heavyweight program.
“We were a little soft in the summer, and I found out how we could hold up against a physical team,” Gomer said. “I was also worried about how we’d react when we got down to a good team. We did get down early, but we battled back. So those were two big positives.”
Meanwhile, Lakewood is adjusting to life without Kira Emsbo, who, along with senior captain Camilla Emsbo, was the other half of the Tigers’ 6-5 identical sister duo.
Kira, who is recovering from major knee surgery, missed much of last season because of injury as well, but was able to make it back in time for the Tigers’ run to their first state championship game appearance.
“Mentally, a lot of our struggles early on this year stemmed from us deal- ing with the finality of Kira being out,” Lakewood coach Chris Poisson said. “Last year, we knew she’d be back eventually. This year, we had to accept that she’s not coming back — but what I told them is, ‘No one has to do it alone. Everyone just has to do a little bit more, a little bit better.’ ”
So while Ralston Valley has gotten taller, Poisson replaced Kira with 5-2 sophomore guard Nadia Trevizo, who has made her presence felt by averaging 10.1 points per game — thus providing a much-needed offensive compliment to Camilla’s 16.1 scoring average.
“Nadia’s total hustle — she’s a spark plug who sees the floor well and can pass and dish,” Poisson said. “And she thrives knowing she can throw it into Camilla, and the entire defense is going to collapse on her, which will continue to give her open looks from three.”
But both coaches are quick to point out the dark horses in the race for the Jeffco title, as Columbine (7-1), Dakota Ridge (6-4), Chatfield (6-3) and Arvada West (6-4) could challenge too — with the Rebels looking like the most potent threat of them all.
“Columbine center (Maura) Singer missed most of last year but was very impressive as a freshman, and they have an experienced group,” Poisson said. “Those juniors and seniors have been playing varsity since they were freshmen, so they could be pretty savvy building off their experience.”