GREELEY — Pawnee’s girls basketball team had never been in this position before.
This year is the first time that Laura Hodgson’s Coyotes had ever made it to the quarterfinals of the state 1A basketball tournament. So to say that they really didn’t know what to expect would probably be pretty accurate.
They certainly didn’t expect a 19-point lead at halftime against No. 2 seed Deer Trail. But they did expect the Lady Eagles to make a run in the second half. It was how Pawnee handled Deer Trail’s comeback that made all the difference in a 55-53 upset Thursday afternoon at Butler-Hancock Pavilion.
“I told the girls we can’t let up. We’re up 19, but half the game you can’t win it. I told them that they’re going to come back. They’re going to do something different and you’ve got to be ready for it and the girls were fighters,” Hodgson said. “The whole year we’ve been in tough games. They’ve overcome a lot. Together, we’ve overcome a lot.”
Pawnee, playing in its first state tournament, jumped out to a 31-12 halftime lead behind a 24-7 second quarter in which Kaylee Hillman scored eight of her 16 points in the frame. But, just as Hodgson expected, Deer Trail made its comeback.
Tae’lor Purdy, the Eagles’ 5-foot-9 senior, took it upon herself to get Deer Trail back in the game. She scored 11 of her game-high 23 points in the third quarter, tying the game at 35 entering the final eight minutes.
“We went in up at halftime up by 19. We just let our intensity drop. We kind of sat back. We started to play to not to lose as oppose of playing to win. They came back and tied it up again in that third quarter. We knew we had to step it up. We couldn’t play safe ball. We had to play aggressive,” said Pawnee’s Janelle Cass.
That’s just what the Coyotes did. Behind Cass, who scored 12 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter, Pawnee jumped ahead 48-41 with 2:07 left. This was after Deer Trail had taken the lead twice earlier in the quarter.
But just like Deer Trail did in the third quarter, it rallied once more time, tying the game at 51 with 49 seconds left on a pair of Purdy free throws. A Tasha Timm layup with 26 seconds left gave Pawnee a 53-51 lead. Then Cass, one of only two seniors for Pawnee, sealed it with two free throws with 8.8 seconds left.
“I said, ‘Just breathe.’ I’m just as excited as they are and I’ve been in these games,” Hodgson said she told her young team. “Enjoy it. Don’t be so uptight you can’t enjoy it.
“I told them Deer Trail’s No. 2. If they beat us, they’re supposed to. If not, you know, we’re taking something the way we can.”
Not bad for a team that finished third in District 4, and now, is in the final four.
Kim 51, Eads 48
Junior Haley Sheldon scored six of her game-high 21 points in the decisive fourth quarter as the third-seeded Lady Mustangs (23-1) avoided a quarterfinal upset.
Kim trailed 40-39 entering the fourth quarter after leading by one after the first quarter, and two at halftime.
The loss ended Eads’ two-year run as state champ.
The Eagles (19-6) won last year’s title with a win over Briggsdale and beat North Park in the 2007 final.
Stratton 52, Hi-Plains 45
A year ago, Stratton was one point from upsetting eventual state champion Eads in the state quarterfinals.
This year, the No. 5 seed made sure to finish the upset. Led by Jordan May’s 24 points, the Eagles (20-5) advance to today’s semifinal, where they’ll face top-seeded McClave.
Sydney Flock added 13 points, nine in the second half. Hi-Plains (21-4), which lost in the quarterfinals for a second straight year, was led by Whitney McCaffrey’s 20 points.
McClave 49, Holly 18
Jerrica Mallard scored a game-high 18 points for the top-seeded Lady Cardinals (24-1).
The win marks the fourth time McClave has beaten Holly (16-9) this season. The 16 points is the lowest output by the Wildcats this season.
The Lady Cardinals held Holly to just two points — a Kelsey Rushton layup off an inbound pass — in the first half en route to a 20-2 halftime lead.
McClave is shooting for its fourth title this decade and its first since winning three straight from 2004-06.
