Fort Collins – “They’ve got to respect us, we earned it!”
Those were the words of Bishop Machebeuf senior guard Cheri Palmer after she helped lead the Buffaloes to an improbable 55-46 victory over Basalt in the Class 3A girls championship game at Moby Arena on Saturday.
The Buffaloes, who came into the tournament losers of four of their final five games and were seeded No. 7 in the eight-team Anita Stites- Rowland Region, finished on a five-game winning streak that culminated a 17-10 season.
“The team stepped up tournament time, and did the things they needed to do,” Machebeuf coach Ellie Kempf said.
It was the first title for the Catholic school since 2003 and the sixth overall. Machebeuf won three state titles in the Shelly Pennefeather era, from 1980-82.
As they did in their previous two games, the Buffs put the ball in the capable hands of Palmer. The 5-foot-4 playmaker was not at her best shooting the ball Saturday, but her presence on the court opened lanes for her teammates.
After totaling 51 points in her team’s first two games at Moby Arena, Palmer was just 7-of-21 from the field in the championship game but still led all scorers with 17 points.
“We knew they were going to come to play,” said Palmer, named the tournament MVP by The Denver Post. “But we were ready for them.”
After a fast-paced first quarter, the Buffs turned up the defensive pressure on the Longhorns in the second quarter to gain all the separation they needed. Palmer, Kelly Mapes and Erin Doherty hounded the Basalt guards, forcing eight turnovers in the decisive second quarter.
“We just never got into our game,” said Longhorns coach Carolyn Compton, whose team finished 22-5. “We just chose to not play the style of game that got us here.”
The usually up-tempo Longhorns, whose transition game fueled their success all season, never got going. Machebeuf took full advantage, using its depth to frustrate Basalt.
Melissa Powell and Malaya Stamps came off the bench to contribute 14 points and eight rebounds to go along with Palmer’s scoring punch and Doherty’s 10 points.
“It was a total team effort. These girls have prepared all day long, since we woke up this morning,” Kempf said. “They stepped up, needed to score some points and we were just great on the defensive end.”
Basalt, which shot just 24 percent (14-for-58) from the field, was led by Cassie Meyer 14 points and Dayne Toney’s 12.
Bishop Machebeuf 16 12 14 13 – 55
Basalt 14 2 15 15 – 46
Bishop Machebeuf – Mapes 2 3-3 7, Palmer 7 3-4 17, Mora 2 1-2 5, Doherty 2 5-6 10, Mathews 1 0-0 2, McDonald 0 0-0 0, Powell 3 2-2 8, Stamps 3 0-0 6, Ibarra 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 14-17 55.
Basalt – Lund 0 0-0 0, Fitzpatrick 1 1-1 4, Mulcahy 1 3-4 5, Peetz 3 1-1 9, Meyer 4 6-6 14, Salvatierra 0 0-0 0, Guglielmo 0 0-0 0, Toney 4 4-4 12, Stewart 0 0-0 0, Munger 0 0-0 0, Miller 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 15-16 46.
3-point goals – Doherty; Peetz 2, Fitzpatrick. Total fouls – Bishop Machebeuf 12; Basalt 16. Fouled out – None. Technicals – None.
THIRD-PLACE GAME
CEDAREDGE 47, FAITH CHRISTIAN 39
Cedaredge 5 9 13 20 – 47
Faith Christian 8 12 10 9 – 39
Cedaredge – Ramos 3 3-4 9, Berger 4 7-8 17, Eason 4 2-2 10, Wright 0 2-2 2, Galvin 2 1-2 7, Breitnauer 0 0-0 0, Litsheim 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 15-18 47.
Faith Christian – Bray 4 2-4 10, Long 2 2-2 7, McBeth 1 2-2 4, Endes 4 0-0 10, Roundtree 2 2-2 6, Hoguta 1 0-0 2, Lopez 0 0-0 0, Weingartner 0 0-0 0, Savage 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 8-10 39.
3-point goals – Berger 2, Galvin 2; Endes 2, Long. Total fouls – Cedaredge 14; Faith Chritsian 20. Fouled out – Roundtree. Technicals – None.
CONSOLATION CHAMPIONSHIP
COLORADO SPRINGS CHRISTIAN 70, ST. MARY’S 45
St. Mary’s 14 11 9 11 – 45
C.S. Christian 19 11 19 21 – 70
St. Mary’s – Whitelaw 2 1-2 5, Nutter 3 2-2 8, Saenz 4 2-2 13, Cardenas 2 1-4 5, Niles 4 2-2 10, Hazuka 0 0-0 0, Kuklenski 1 0-0 2, Drobeck 0 0-0 0, Bunecke 0 1-4 1, Abeyta 0 0-0 0, Billing 0 1-2 1, Molet 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 10-18 45.
C.S. Christian – Young 3 2-2 10, Hestermann 4 3-4 11, Friesen 10 1-2 24, Routt 2 2-2 6, Beck 2 3-3 7, Bultje 0 0-0 0, Kenney 1 0-0 2, Beach 0 2-4 2, Smitherman 0 0-2 0, VandeGriend 0 0-0 0, Broekhuis 2 4-5 8, Hammerstrom 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 17-24 70.
3-point goals – Saenz 3; Friesen 3, Young 2. Total fouls – St. Mary’s 18; C.S. Chritsian 17. Fouled out – None. Technicals – None.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Carrie Berger, Cedaredge, Sr.
Erin Doherty, Bishop Machebeuf, Sr.
Cassie Meyer, Basalt, Sr.
Cheri Palmer, Bishop Machebeuf, Sr.
Dayne Toney, Basalt, Jr.
MVP: Cheri Palmer
