Fort Collins – Basalt just kept digging and digging, and finally buried Denver Christian enough that the Crusaders could not climb out of their hole.
The Longhorns, top seed in the Sheila Quillan-Thompson Region, carried a 13-point lead into the third quarter, then hung on to advance to today’s semifinals with a 59-52 win over the Crusaders on Thursday at Moby Arena.
“They didn’t make it easy on us at all,” Basalt coach Carolyn Compton said. “We probably should have blown them out.”
Basalt (21-4) will play Faith Christian at 8:30 p.m. today.
It was the Basalt 2-3 zone that gave the Crusaders fits. Denver Christian established its inside game with Chelsea LeFebre, but once the Longhorns adapted, the inside game almost disappeared.
Dayne Toney came off the bench, and on back-to-back Denver Christian possessions the 6-foot junior blocked three shots and had a steal.
“That’s our No. 1 defense, and we run it well,” Compton said.
Said Denver Christian coach Becky Mudd: “We just couldn’t seem to get anything going, and even when we got shots, our percentage wasn’t good. Some of the kids that normally hit weren’t hitting, and that affected everyone’s games.”
Basalt’s Katy Mulcahy scored eight of her game-high 22 points in the third quarter, and hit two clutch 3-pointers that stretched the lead to 13 going into the final quarter.
Denver Christian (18-7) cut the lead to 53-50 with about a minute to play, but two costly turnovers and clutch free-throw shooting by Katheryne Fitzpatrick sealed the Crusaders’ fate.
“We got kind of nervous in the end, but we knew we had it in the bag,” Mulcahy said.
Basalt’s Cassie Meyer finished with 12 points and Toney had 10 points to go along with her four blocks.
LeFebre and Laine Baity paced the Crusaders with 17 points each.
Denver Christian 10 14 9 19 – 52
Basalt 15 17 14 13 – 59
Denver Christian – Landhuis 2 0-0 4, Matthies 3 1-2 8, Baity 5 5-5 17, Draayer 1 0-0 2, C. LeFebre 7 3-4 17, Singleton 0 0-0 0, Hassing 0 0-0 0, Bell 2 0-0 4. Totals 20 9-11 52.
Basalt – Lund 1 0-0 2, Fitzpatrick 2 3-6 8, Mulcahy 7 5-6 22, Peetz 2 0-0 5, Meyer 6 0-2 12, Salvatierra 0 0-0 0, Guglielmo 0 0-0 0, Toney 5 0-0 10, Stewart 0 0-0 0, Booth 0 0-0 0, Munger 0 0-0 0, Miller 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 8-14 59.
3-pt. goals – Baity 2, Matthies; Mulcahy 3, Fitzpatrick, Peetz. Total fouls – Denver Christian 16; Basalt 12. Fouled out – Toney. Technicals – None.
FAITH CHRISTIAN 55, ST. MARY’S 31: Faith Christian (22-3) got all the separation it needed from St. Mary’s with a 10-0 run to start the third quarter, and cruised into the semifinals with a win over the Pirates.
St. Mary’s (20-5) had no answer inside for Faith’s Cortney Bray. The 6-foot senior finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Brittnay Long added 11 for Faith.
The Pirates struggled from the field, going just 12-for-51 (23.5 percent).
St. Mary’s 3 9 8 11 – 31
Faith Christian 10 9 15 21 – 55
St. Mary’s – Whitelaw 2 1-2 5, Nutter 0 0-2 0, Saenz 2 3-4 8, Cardenas 0 1-4 1, Niles 5 0-0 11, Hazuka 0 0-0 0, Kuklenski 1 0-0 2, Drobeck 2 0-0 4, Bunecke 0 0-0 0, Abeyta 0 0-2 0, Billing 0 0-0 0, Molet 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 5-14 31.
Faith Christian – Bray 9 5-5 23, Long 3 4-4 11, McBeth 1 3-4 5, Ends 2 1-2 5, Roundtree 1 0-0 2, Hoguta 2 2-2 6, Lopez 0 0-2 0, Weingartner 0 3-4 3, Savage 0 0-0 0, Bartusek 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 18-23 51.
3-pt. goals – Saenz, Niles; Long. Total fouls – St. Mary’s 20; Faith Christian 14. Fouled out – None. Technicals – None.
BISHOP MACHEBEUF 63, C.S. CHRISTIAN 60: Bishop Machebeuf, seeded seventh in the eight-team Anita Stites-Rowland Region, nearly blew a double-digit halftime lead against top-seeded Colorado Springs Christian and then held on down the stretch for a win.
“We worked too hard in the first two quarters to let this one get away,” Bishop Machebeuf coach Ellie Kempf said.
Machebeuf (15-10) watched the Lions erase a 36-24 halftime deficit midway through the third quarter, then responded with some big shots.
Senior guard Erin Doherty, who finished with 17 points, hit two jumpers in the waning moments of the third quarter that gave the Buffs their separation.
C.S. Christian (22-3) got a huge effort from Bethany Beck. The senior scored a game-high 30 points and had 12 rebounds.
Bishop Machebeuf 16 20 11 16 – 63
C.S. Christian 6 18 18 18 – 60
Bishop Machebeuf – Mapes 3 0-0 6, Palmer 4 14-20 23, Mora 3 1-2 7, Doherty 7 0-0 17, Matthews 2 0-1 4, Powell 1 0-0 2, Stamps 2 0-0 4. Totals 22 15-23 63.
C.S. Christian – Young 3 0-0 7, Hestermann 3 4-4 10, Friesen 2 0-0 5, Routt 3 0-0 6, Beck 13 4-4 30, Kenney 0 0-0 0, Beach 0 0-0 0, Broekhuis 1 0-2 2. Totals 25 8-10 60.
3-pt. goals – Doherty 3, Palmer; Young, Friesen. Total fouls – Bishop Machebeuf 13; C.S. Christian 20. Fouled out – None. Technicals – None.
CEDAREDGE 56, HOLY FAMILY 52: Cedaredge (23-1) concluded Thursday’s play with a thrilling comeback victory. The Bruins trailed by 14 points at the half, and rallied with 3-pointers in the second half, going 6-of-9 from long range.
Holy Family 16 13 13 10 – 52
Cedaredge 9 6 24 17 – 56
Holy Family – Halligan 4 2-2 14, DePinto 2 0-0 5, Giltner 5 4-4 14, Gills 3 1-2 7, Griffin 1 0-0 2, Szabo 1 0-0 2, Metzger 0 0-0 0, Carlan 2 0-0 4, Spellman 2 0-0 4, Lancaster 0 0-0 0, Hengemuhie 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 7-10 52.
Cedaredge – Ramos 5 8-11 18, Berger 5 2-2 17, Eason 2 2-2 6, Wright 3 0-1 8, Galvin 1 5-5 7, Breitnauer 0 0-0 0, Litsheim 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 17-21 56.
3-pt. goals – Halligan 4, DePinto; Berger 5, Wright 2. Total fouls – Holy Family 18; Cedaredge 12. Fouled out – None. Technical – None.
SCHEDULE
THURSDAY
at Moby Arena, Fort Collins
Basalt 59, Denver Christian 52
Faith Christian 55, St. Marys 31
Cedaredge 56, Holy Family 52
Bishop Machebeuf 63, C.S. Christian 60
TODAY
Final Four: (7) Bishop Machebeuf (15-10) vs. (1) Cedaredge (23-1), 5:30 p.m.
(1) Basalt (21-4) vs. (1) Faith Christian (22-3), 8:30 p.m.
SATURDAY
Third place: 3:30 p.m.
Championship game: 7:15 p.m.
