Fort Collins – At 5-foot-3, Bishop Machebeuf guard Cheri Palmer is more than capable of putting a team on her shoulders and carrying them as far as they need to go.
The ultimate destination is in sight for the Buffaloes after they knocked off their second straight No. 1 seed in the Class 3A state tournament. One night after they disposed of Colorado Springs Christian, Machebeuf took it to Cedaredge 57-38 at Moby Arena.
Machebeuf (16-10) will play for its first title since 2003 on at 7 p.m. Saturday night against Basalt.
“It’s a matter in us believing in ourselves as a team,” said Palmer, of her team that came into the tournament a No. 7 seed. “Nobody else believed, and we love that. That’s what we play for.”
Cedaredge (23-2), one night after coming from 16 down to beat Holy Family, had no answer for Palmer. The Bruins used a variety of defenders, from Shorty Ramos to Rachelle Litsheim, to try and combat Palmer’s speed and ball-handling skills.
Still Palmer had the answers. The senior scored her game-high 28 points in a variety of ways, creating off the dribble for jumpers and by simply beating the Bruins to the basket with her speed.
“She’s a great ballplayer, and at this level she’s great,” said Cedaredge coach Eric Hollenbeak, who guided the Bruins back to the state tournament for the first time in 16 seasons. “We had a game plan for her, but we just couldn’t execute it because she was just that good.”
Palmer had help offensively. Erin Doherty finished with 12 points and nine rebounds and Kelly Mapes chipped in 11 points.
Bishop Machebeuf 13 15 15 14 – 57
Cedaredge 15 5 11 7 – 38
Bishop Machebeuf – Mapes 2 7-10 11, Palmer 8 11-14 28, Mora 1 0-0 2, Doherty 3 5-6 12, Mathews 1 0-0 2, Montoya 0 0-0 0, McDonald 0 0-0 0, Roybal 0 0-0 0, Powell 0 0-0 0, Stamps 1 0-0 2, Costanzo 0 0-0 0, Ibarra 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 23-31 57.
Cedaredge – Ramos 2 1-2 5, Berger 2 2-2 8, Eason 2 2-4 6, Wright 3 0-0 6, Galvin 2 4-4 9, Breitnauer 0 0-0 0, Fischer 0 0-0 0, Walker 0 0-0 0, Litsheim 2 0-0 4, Cotharn 0 0-0 0, Lindley 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 9-12 38.
3-point goals – Palmer, Doherty; Berger 2, Galvin. Total fouls – Bishop Machebeuf 12; Cedaredge 19. Fouled out – None. Technicals – None.
BASALT 62, FAITH CHRISTIAN 56: If a team mimics its coach, then Basalt possesses a ton of swagger.
Longhorns coach Carolyn Compton firmly believes in her team, and her team believes in her. Basalt advanced to its first state title game with a win over Faith Christian and in the process sent Eagles fans, who watched the boys lose earlier in the evening to Eaton, home with a sour taste in their mouths.
“My girls kept their composure, and just absolutely refused to lose this game,” Compton said.
Basalt (22-4) pulled away down the stretch, after trading the lead with Faith 15 times in the second half. Clutch free-throw shooting from Katheryne Fitzpatrick and Katy Mulcahy along with a steal by Emily Peetz that led to a Fitzpatrick layup with 19.7 seconds to seal the win.
Reserve Dayne Toney led the Longhorns with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Cassie Meyer had 17 points and Fitzpatrick finished with 15.
Cortney Bray, Kayla Ends and Amber Roundtree each had 11 points for the Eagles, who finished 22-4.
Faith Christian 9 19 12 16 – 56
Basalt 16 13 13 20 – 62
Faith Christian – Bray 4 3-4 11, Long 3 0-0 6, McBeth 4 1-2 9, Ends 4 0-0 11, Roundtree 4 3-3 11, Hoguta 2 2-2 6, Lopez 1 0-0 2, Weingartner 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 9-11 56.
Basalt – Lund 0 0-0 0, Fitzpatrick 6 3-5 15, Mulcahy 0 2-2 2, Peetz 4 0-0 8, Meyer 8 0-0 17, Salvatierra 0 0-0 0, Toney 9 2-2 20, Stewart 0 0-0 0, Munger 0 0-0 0, Miller 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 7-9 62.
3-point goals – Ends 3; Meyer. Total fouls – Faith Christian 15; Basalt 16. Fouled out – None. Technicals – None.
