Greeley – Basketball games are a lot more fun when they move in slow motion.
Just ask Greeley West’s Lauren Dusin. The sophomore guard hit the winning 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds remaining in overtime to stun top-seeded and Northern League rival Broomfield 48-47 at the Butler Hancock Sports Pavilion in the Class 4A Great 8 of the Brenda House Region.
Seventh-seeded Greeley West (19-8), which knocked Broomfield out in the Final Four last season, will play Mullen (23-2) Wednesday at the Coors Events Center in Boulder.
“It was in slow motion for sure,” said Dusin, who had missed her previous seven shots before the game-winner. “I was a little negative at first, because I had been missing all those shots, then I just sort of paused and I was waiting for it, and it went in.”
What makes the Spartans victory even more unbelievable is that Broomfield crushed them 77-38 on Dec. 9.
“We had a new coach coming in and early on it was a tough transition for the girls,” first-year Spartans coach Dave Kiser said. “We were just sort of feeling each other out, and we all just hung in there together.”
Greeley West scored the first 10 points and watched the Eagles miss their first seven shots and turn the ball over five times in the first six minutes.
Broomfield (24-2), which trailed 25-14 at the half, made its run in the third quarter. The Eagles outscored Greeley West 20-8 in the quarter and grabbed their first lead of the game at the 1:50 mark.
But the turnover bug that bit them in the first half came back in the fourth quarter, and Greeley West was able to claw back, even holding the ball for the final 1:14 to try and get the last shot. It was Dusin who missed a runner in the lane.
“They fought back and I give them credit for that,” said Broomfield coach Mike Croell, “but in a game like this, you just can’t come out and dig yourself a hole like we did. You cannot forget what got you there.”
Greeley West 14 11 8 8 7 – 48
Broomfield 7 7 20 7 6 – 47
Greeley West – Schweers 0 0-0 0, Hemmings 5 1-4 12, Harter 2 1-2 5, Ameling 6 6-7 18, Nickel 1 0-0 3, Dusin 3 0-0 8, Tellez 0 0-0 0, Wagy 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 8-13 48.
Broomfield – Davies 0 4-4 4, Calderwood 5 3-4 14, Stem 1 2-4 4, Sewell 6 3-4 15, Rhodes 0 0-0 0, Fankell 0 0-0 0, Snow 2 1-2 5, Biegner 2 0-1 5. Totals 16 13-19 47.
3-pt. goals – Dusin 2, Hemmings, Nickel; Calderwood, Biegner. Total fouls – Greeley West 11; Broomfield 14. Fouled out – None. Technicals – None.
