LOVELAND — It had been a long time coming for the Overland girls basketball program.
The sixth-seeded Trailblazers of the Alice Barron Region had not beaten Centennial League foe Cherry Creek in two tries this season or in the four seasons the seven seniors on the team had been in high school.
That all changed Thursday night at the Budweiser Events Center. Overland (18-7) moved on to the Great 8 for the first time in school history with a 43-39 victory over the Bruins and will face Chaparral on Saturday at the Denver Coliseum.
“Third time’s a charm,” said senior Stormye Everett, who went off for 22 points and grabbed 22 rebounds.
Everett’s biggest rebound of the game came down the stretch. With Overland clinging to a 40-39 lead, Everett snatched one of her seven offensive rebounds after teammate Emily Lekahal missed a big free throw with 16.1 seconds left.
“I was just thinking, we need to run some time, that we are up and just need to play smart,” Everett said. “There was no guarantee of what they were going to do on the other end.”
Cherry Creek (18-6) had a chance to tie in the final seconds but committed a turnover. Creek’s Rachel Roberson had 15 points and 13 rebounds.
East 68, Horizon 58.
The Angels weren’t playing just for their high school, but the entire Denver Prep League.
“Tonight, we played this game for the DPL,” Angels coach John Youngquist said. “It’s our first time going this far, and it feels great.”
The third seed out of the Sharon Wilch Region finished the game on a 11-2 run to advance to the Great 8, where it will face Highlands Ranch on Saturday.
A game that featured 14 ties and six lead changes saw the Angels wear down the poor-shooting Hawks (17-for-58) in the second half.
East was successful getting the ball underneath the basket to Shae Kelley and Carlie Christianson, who combined for 26 points and 22 rebounds against the bigger Hawks interior.
Dakota Ridge 66, Monarch 61, OT.
The Eagles, No. 2 in the Carol Callan Region, squandered a 14-point first-half lead before advancing.
Monarch’s Alex Evans sent the game to overtime with a running layup with 4.5 seconds left. A crucial Janelle Branting three-point play with 1:29 left in OT gave the Eagles (22-3) the separation they needed to move on to the Great 8 against Regis.
Monarch (16-8) was led by Emily Wood’s 21 points and Mallory Lynch’s 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Jon E. Yunt: 303-954-1354 or jyunt@denverpost.com
