ARVADA — Fort Collins coach Kyle Tregoning knows free-throw shooting is not a strength of his girls basketball team. But he devised a good game plan Friday night to remedy the problem.
Dominating the boards, Tregoning’s fifth-seeded Lamb-kins took advantage of numerous second and third opportunities and ousted fourth-seeded Ralston Valley 43-34 in the Class 5A playoffs.
“If you’re not hitting free throws (5-for-15), make sure you get more shots,” Tregoning said with a grin. “We really worked in practice on our rebounding for this game. We have been on the other end (of the rebounding battle), but I guess we finally got our point across.”
Fort Collins (16-9) advanced to the Sweet 16 and a showdown with top-seeded Horizon (23-1), a winner Friday night over Douglas County in the Kaye Garms Region.
This marked the first Sweet 16 appearance for the Lamb-kins since 2006. That year ended a long run of Sweet 16s.
“We were watching (game) film last night and I told the girls it was time for us to get back (to the Sweet 16),” Tregoning said. “Nobody expected much of this team. We graduated six seniors off last year, and we only have one senior in this group that isn’t hurt.”
That lone senior, 5-foot-9 Ally Girardi, scored nine points and was a force on the offensive boards, along with 5-11 Natalie Geise and 5-10 Danyelle Minchow. Geise led the Lambkins in scoring with 10 points.
Although Ralston Valley shooters were cold, the Mustangs managed to stay even with the visitors after the first and second quarters. Fort Collins took control with a 10-2 run in the third quarter.
Fort Collins’ defense clogged the middle, forcing Ralston Valley (15-9) to settle for long-range shots. The host Mustangs managed just 13 points after halftime.
“We knew (Ralston Valley) was going to take a lot of 3-pointers,” Tregoning said. “But we made sure by blocking out and rebounding that they wouldn’t get another chance when they missed.”
Fort Collins 8 13 14 8 — 43
Ralston Valley 8 13 7 6 — 34
Fort Collins — Geise 4 2-8 10, Girardi, 4 0-0 9, Lopez 1 1-2 4, Jordan 2 1-2 5, Minchow 2 0-0 4, Boley 0 0-0 0, Rudel 2 1-3 5, Arneson 1 0-0 2, McAuliffe 2 0-0 4. Totals 18 5-15 43.Ralston Valley — Moschetti 1 0-0 3, Reeves 4 3-5 12, Murphy 1 4-4 6, Murnan 4 0-0 8, Johnson 1 1-2 3, D. Montijo, 0 0-0 0, A. Montijo 0 0-0 0, Varnell 1 0-2 2. Totals 12 8-13 34.3-pt goals: Fort Collins — Lopez, Girardi. Ralston Valley — Moschetti, Reeves.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
