MAKE ’EM FIGHT
Frederick takes No. 1 Air Academy to the brink of elimination at 5A state
DENVER >> Walking into the Denver Coliseum requires one thing of basketball teams in March. That is, fear of losing and fear of failure has to be checked at the door.
It’s not a problem for a team like Frederick girls basketball because that’s how the Golden Eagles play at their baseline level.
It wasn’t a shock to see the Class 5A No. 8 seed Golden Eagles come out and deliver an early punch to top-seeded Air Academy on Friday afternoon. But there was a distinct understanding that getting a lead and holding on to that lead are two different things.
The Kadets put together a solid second half to get a 4539 win over the Golden Eagles and advance to the Class 5A Final Four.
“We don’t care if we feel like we’re the underdogs or the favorite,” FHS coach Jake Hansen said. “They’re going to step on the floor with everything to prove. They had a great week of practice. Even in the locker room before the game, everyone was loose. No one was tense.”
And it showed. Rylee Gallegos hit a layup and a jump shot, and Zoe Wittler scored a layup of her own to give the Golden Eagles (19-7) a 16-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. Wittler helped that momentum roll on into the second, connecting on consecutive buckets — one from 3-point range — to stretch the Frederick lead to nine points. She finished with a game-high 15 points.
“We knew coming in as an eight and them coming in as the one, they didn’t expect us to give them a good game,” Wittler said. “We were preparing like who cares if we’re No. 8. We’re going to give them hell.”
But basketball is a game of runs and the Kadets (25-1) went on a crucial one to start the second half.
They started the third quarter on an 11-0 run, playing more to the speed and style that got them to the Great 8 in the first place. They also started moving
the offense through star forward Caitlin Kramer, who scored 13 points for the Kadets.
“We do a thing where we have three possessions in a row; if we get three defensive possessions in a row (without the other team scoring), it’s a bonus point,” Air Academy coach Phil Roiko said. “Rather than focusing on being down nine, we focus on three possessions. And that got us going.”
It took Frederick almost 6 minutes into the third quarter before scoring a basket. When Gabby Jima broke the scoring drought, it brought a little bit of fight back into the Golden Eagles. They took a one-point lead into the fourth quarter and baskets from Kaylee Gardner and Avery Salisbury had them up 39-36 with 3:04 remaining.
“That speaks to this team’s heart, hustle and grit,” Wittler said. “We’re going to give a team everything we can and whether we’re up or down, we’re going to give it our all.”
In this case, the Kadets had a little more to give than the Golden Eagles. A layup from Lydia Flowers got them ahead and then a 3-pointer from Audrina Nelson with just over a minute to go all but ended the upset bid.
Air Academy added a couple of free throws but completed a strong second half to keep its season alive.
“We gave it everything we had today,” Hansen said. “We just came up short.”