Loveland surges past Northglenn
Peterson’s 14 points pace Red Wolves to fifth win
NORTHGLENN >> Motion and cutting were the themes on full display Monday evening for the Loveland girls basketball team.
A dominant third quarter, part of a 23-0 run, propelled the Red Wolves girls past Northglenn, 5419, for their fifth win of the season and third Front Range League win. With just one week left in the regular season, the Red Wolves’ record now stands at 5-16 overall and 3-10 in the Class 6A FRL.
It was a win that hopefully the team can build on, whether that be closing out this season or looking ahead to the next.
Junior forward Reece Peterson led Red Wolves with 14 points, consistently finding a way down the lane for easy buckets. Peterson also added a couple of 3-pointers to her tally. With her team running a high-intensity motion offense, Peterson credited her teammates for finding her.
“At halftime, we said that everybody’s trying to do too much on their own,” Peterson said. “Basketball only works if everybody’s working together on the play. Once we started to actually run the plays like they were designed it all just started to come together for us.”
A close first quarter saw Loveland put Northglenn at the free throw line a few times, putting the visitors in a 9-8 hole going into the second quarter.
During LHS’ first possession of the second period, Peterson nailed a 3 — giving Loveland an 11-9 lead it would never relinquish. From that point on, the Red Wolves put the clamps on the Norse and allowed just 10 more points the rest of the way.
“I don’t think we felt pressured as much in this game,” assistant coach Chris Michael said. “We didn’t have very good offensive output in the first half. In the second half, we slowed down and ran our primary offense. We were able to change some things on defense to kind of change the momentum.”
Michael filled in admirably for head coach AJ Clark, who was out sick, and the 54-point outburst matched the Red Wolves’ season high. Peterson was aided offensively by fellow juniors Peri Downer (7 points) and Kraityn Peterson (9 points). Kraityn hit two 3s, including one that beat the buzzer at the end of the third quarter to give Loveland a 41-13 lead.
Patience was a key factor for the Red Wolves as they never rushed their offense and made sure to find the best shot, using
their play calls to their advantage. Loveland hopes the momentum gained in this game will carry over into their final two games of the season against Monarch and Boulder.
“We’re all just looking to really just have fun together,” Peterson said of her team’s final two games. “We want to finish strong and make memories for the few seniors we have on our team.”