Littleton – Alana Curtis said the third quarter belongs to Rocky Mountain’s girls basketball team, and it is hard to argue with her.
The junior scored 10 points, including eight straight, in the third quarter Tuesday night to help the Lobos regain the lead they had just given up and go on to a 66-53 victory over Heritage in a Class 5A nonconference game.
“The third quarter is just our quarter in general. It’s been a strong point in games for us,” Curtis said.
Curtis and Stephanie Hejde scored 14 points each, and twin sister Ari Curtis added 10 more to keep No. 4 Rocky Mountain perfect (9-0) this season. Jocelyn Zarling came off the bench for 13 points, including three first-half 3-pointers.
No. 8 Heritage (7-4) jumped out to an 10-2 lead in the early going, but the game turned into a track meet late in the first quarter and Hejde’s putback of a teammate’s missed shot tied the score,14-14. The score deadlocked again at 21 in the second quarter, but the Lobos went on a 6-0 run capped by a steal and lay-up by Alana Curtis. Rocky Mountain hit the first shot of the second half to take a 10-point lead and looked to be running away with the game.
But then Heritage sharpshooter Beckett Brennan came alive from behind the arc. She hit back-to-back 3-pointers, the second of which cut Rocky Mountain’s lead to a point, 38-37, and Kelsie Gourdin then tied the score with a free throw with 5:03 left in the third quarter.
Brennan would finish with a game-high 20 points and six 3-pointers, just another day at the office for the junior.
“We did lose track of (Brennan). I’m not sure what happened because we know she’s a great shooter,” Alana Curtis said.
Hejde thinks she knows why Brennan was able to find space for open looks at the basket.
“Heritage has a good 3-point game and a good post game, so it’s hard to worry about both of them,” Hejde said.
The tie score seemed to wake up Rocky Mountain, and Alana Curtis went on a tear with eight-straight points before Krista Gleiforst splashed a 3-point shot to sink the Eagles into an 11-0 point deficit.
“We made a run and worked so hard to get (back in it), but then we took a breath and we were struggling again,” Heritage coach Ron McClurg said. “That team (Rocky Mountain) always does everything correct.”
Kelsie Gourdin scored 10 points for the Eagles, and starters Britney Haugen and Andrea Swanson added six each.
Rocky Mountain 14 20 20 12 – 66
Heritage 14 12 14 13 – 53
Rocky Mountain – Hejde 5 4-4 14, Al. Curtis 7 0-0 14, Chevron 1 2-2 5, Ar. Curtis 2 6-8 10, Glisan 2 2-2 7, Gleiforst 1 0-0 3, Zarling 5 0-1 13, Schmitz 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 14-17 66.
Heritage – Haugen 2 0-0 6, Jackson 1 0-0 3, Brennan 6 2-2 20, Swanson 3 0-0 6, Gourdin 3 4-6 10, Pfannenstein 3 0-0 6, Semin 1 0-0 2, Dylla 0 0-0 0, Howell 0 0-0 0sterling 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 6-8 53.
3-pt. goals – Zarling 3, Chevron, Glisan, Gleiforst; Brennan 6, Haugen 2, Jackson. Total fouls – Rocky Mountain 11; Heritage 18. Fouled out – None. Technicals – None.
