Highlands Ranch – ThunderRidge, the three-time Class 5A defending girls basketball state champion, lost four starters to graduation, but it seems like eight more have stepped in to take their places.
The Grizzlies routed visiting Palmer 66-20 on Thursday night, extending the program’s in-state winning streak to 63 games in the season opener for both teams.
Jayna Hartig, the lone returning starter, and bound for the University of Virginia, did what she was expected to do. The 6-foot-1 senior scored a game-high 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
ThunderRidge, ranked No. 4 in The Denver Post/9News preseason poll, rotated 11 players in the first half and held the Terrors to 4-of-38 shooting from the floor, using an aggressive defense that stretched to half-court and flustered Palmer from the start.
“This is a totally different team, but the desire to work really hard is still there,” Hartig said.
The Grizzlies held Palmer scoreless until the last second of the first quarter, when Leah Fitzgerald sank a free throw. The Terrors made just one shot from the floor though three quarters.
ThunderRidge’s Meagan Malcolm-Peck, an athletic 6-1 freshman, scored 11 points and showed the ability to go left or right, inside or outside. Her twin sister, Brenna, pitched with in nine points.
Palmer 2 3 5 10 – 20
ThunderRidge 20 15 13 18 – 66
Palmer – Fitzgerald 0 2-5 2, Lambrecht 3 6-13 12, Brown 0 3-6 3, Jacobs 1 0-1 2, Wyatt 0 1-2 1, Leaming 0 0-0 0, Creech 0 0-0 0, Fladland 0 0-0 0. Totals 4 12-27 20.
ThunderRidge – Evans 2 2-3 6, Breidel 4 1-2 10, Luedtke 2 0-0 4, J. Hartig 7 0-0 15, K. Hartig 2 2-2 6, M. Malcolm-Peck 5 0-0 11, Messer 1 0-0 2, Amos 1 1-2 3, B. Malcolm-Peck 4 0-0 9, Dederick 0 0-0 0, Davis 0 0-0 0. Totals 28 6-9 66.
3-pt. goals – Breidel, J. Hartig, M. Malcolm-Peck, B. Malcolm-Peck. Total fouls – Palmer 10; ThunderRidge 22. Fouled out – None. Technicals – None.
