Glenwood Springs topples G. Washington
Glenwood Springs’ goal at the beginning of the season was to make the Sweet 16.
But the Demons have played so well they needed to revise those expectations. Now, their goal is to win it all.
Glenwood Springs upset top- seeded George Washington, 48- 41, in the Class 5A girls basketball Great 8 on Thursday at the Denver Coliseum to advance to the second Final 4 in program history. It was a performance that showed what the Western Slope team is capable of as they set their sights on a first state title.
“We’ve won the league the last four years, and we’ve been grinding for this moment and to do something special,” 11thyear coach Rhonda Moser said. “We knew today, the team was going to win was the team was that was most disciplined at the end.”
George Washington led after the first three quarters, but the Demons owned the details of the fourth quarter, most importantly at the free-throw line. After going 20-of-24 from the line in their Sweet 16 win over Green Mountain last week, the Demons were 20- of-21 on Thursday, while GW finished 8- of-20.
Senior guard Jos - lyn Spires led Glenwood Springs with 18 points, while senior wing Tori Taylor chipped in 10. GW was paced by 18 points from junior forward Gianna Whiteside and 12 from senior guard Mya Cotto.
George Washington controlled the tempo most of the first half but struggled to finish at the rim. That, along with a strong rebounding effort by the Demons, kept it close. Neither team cracked double digits until past the midway mark of the second quarter, and the Patriots went into halftime leading 18-13.
Glenwood Spr ing s grabbed the momentum in the third quarter, but GW wouldn’t go away and carried a three-point lead into the final quarter.
The teams were tied 3535 with four minutes to play, and it was Glenwood Springs who had the final burst of momentum. GW was playing without star senior guard Jaida Redwine, who sustained an ACL injury late in the regular season.
NO. 4 WINDSOR 44, NO. 5 MEAD 41 >>
Give round three to Windsor — barely.
Thanks to a halftime adjustment, and a 32-24 advantage on the boards, Windsor took down Mead to move within a win of its third straight title game trip.
After trailing 26-24 going into halftime thanks to 11 points and two assists from Mead guard Charlotte Brennan, the Wizards came out in a 2-3 zone to begin the second half and held the Mavericks to one basket through the first five minutes of the third quarter to take a 35-29 lead they never relinquished.
Leading scorer Hailee Wright didn’t get many looks for Windsor (19-7), but she made them count, sinking 2 of 3 from the field and 5 of 5 from the freethrow line for nine points. That included a clutch baseline jumper that gave the Wizards a four-point edge with 2:45 to go and a pair of freebies to help ice it in the final minute. Brennan finished with 16 points for Mead (20- 6).
NO. 3 DURANGO 49, NO. 11 CANON CITY 25 >>
All the numbers said expect a defensive slugfest between Durango and Canon City. In this case, the numbers didn’t lie.
In a matchup of the two best defenses in the 5A girls bracket, Durango kept Canon City out of the paint on one end, took care of the ball on the other, and got plenty of offense from slashing guard Mason Rowland (24 points) to secure a spot in the Final 4.
The Demons (23-2) came into the game giving up an average of 28.5 points per game and it was easy to see why.
Despite Canon City (19-7) turning the ball over just 12 times, the Demons’ ability to close out and close off driving lanes forced the Tigers into 10-for-37 shooting.
NO. 2 ROOSEVELT 51, NO. 7 AIR ACADEMY 47>>
Roosevelt has a first-year head coach, zero seniors and faced an early deficit to Air Academy in the opening Great 8 game.
No problem for the Rough Riders, who used a suffocating full- court press to rally and advance to the program’s first Final 4.
Freshman Kyla Hollier led Roosevelt with 13 points, and sophomore Ryanne Bahnsen-price added 12.
Meanwhile, Roosevelt’s non-stop pressure forced 36 Air Academy turnovers, negating the performance of Cadets star combo guard Caitlin Kramer, who had 27 points.