Fort Collins – Horizon snapped Poudre’s 10-game winning streak with an 82-49 victory Tuesday night, taking control of the Class 5A Front Range League with one game to play, and Hawks sophomore guard Nikki Trujillo could not help but smile.
“I was shaking I was so excited, getting everyone pumped up. I smiled every time I looked at the scoreboard and saw that score go up,” Trujillo said.
With Hannah Tuomi hogging the boards, a stifling full-court press and its speed at the guard position, Horizon took control early.
The Hawks, No. 8 in The Denver Post/9News poll and state runners-up last season, improved to 14-4 overall, 6-1 in league, and took the advantage in the league race over No. 4 Poudre (13-5, 6-1) with the regular season winding down.
Horizon can clinch the Front Range title with a win over Legacy this week.
Tuomi, the state’s leading rebounder the past two seasons, scored a game-high 19 points to go with 14 rebounds before heading to the bench for the fourth quarter. Cara Lambert finished with 15 points and three blocks, and Trujillo hit a pair of 3-pointers on the way to 13 points.
For Poudre – which beat four playoff teams from last season in its past four games, including a victory over then-top ranked Rocky Mountain – Laura Haugen had 16 points, and Reika Shucart and Serena Vandenberg scored 12 apiece.
The Impalas, however, could not keep pace.
“We’ve had really close games, and we’ve been down before, but never like this,” Haugen said. “We were lazy, kind of sluggish.”
Horizon outrebounded Poudre 38-18, and the Hawks’ use of a full-court trap for most of the game stalled the Impalas’ offense. Horizon’s offense, meanwhile, could not be stopped.
The Hawks took a 10-point lead in the second quarter when Tuomi completed a three-point play after pulling down a rebound in traffic and banking in the shot. The lead went to 51-31 in the third quarter when Trujillo hit a 3-pointer, and it grew to 30 when Lambert hit a 3.
“I wasn’t surprised (by the final score) because we were so intense the whole game. Our intensity really took over,” Tuomi said.
Guards Trujillo, Cherae Medina and Sasha Crosby set a blistering pace offensively, pushing the ball upcourt and dishing off to the open player.
“They make a lot of assists. They really help the team out,” Tuomi said.
Horizon 17 19 22 24 – 82
Poudre 11 11 11 16 – 49
Horizon – Medina 2 1-4 7, Trujillo 5 1-2 13, Crosby 1 2-4 4, Tuomi 7 5-7 19, Lambert 6 2-4 15, Herz 4 0-0 8, Stephenson 3 2-4 8, Shotts 2 2-2 6, Neises 0 0-0 0, Barringer 0 2-2 2. Totals 30 17-29 82.
Poudre – Shucart 4 4-5 12, Haugen 7 1-2 16, Vandenberg 5 2-6 12, Chismar 1 2-3 4, DeGroot 0 1-2 1, S. Lindquist 1 2-2 4, Doe 0 0-0 0, Jestes 0 0-0 0, B. Lindquist 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 12-20 49.
3-pt. goals – Medina 2, Trujillo 2, Lambert; Haugen. Total fouls – Horizon 20; Poudre 24. Fouled out – Vandenberg. Technicals – None.
