Muddling through a ho-hum, pedestrian first half Thursday, Shae Kelley issued a quick reminder of why she’ll be playing Division I basketball next season.
The East senior emphatically swatted a Heritage 3-point attempt — the volume resonated throughout her sweltering home gym — then quickly retrieved the ball and beat everyone down the floor for an uncontested layup.
It was the first of several key contributions by the University of Colorado-bound Kelley that helped her 10th-ranked Angels upset No. 4 Heritage 67-63 in a Class 5A nonleague game.
“It did definitely get me going,” Kelley said. “But on that play I tweaked my knee, which I had hurt last week in a game against Poudre, and that kind of upset me. But it definitely brought my intensity up.”
Kelley’s marquee moment occurred with 23 seconds left and East up 63-60. Teammate Samantha Sanders missed a free throw, but Kelley grabbed the offensive rebound to prevent Heritage from having a potentially tying possession. Kelley then nailed four consecutive free throws in the final seconds — two after the rebound, and two after a 3-pointer by Heritage’s Molly Rogan cut it to 65-63.
“It’s just effort,” Kelley said. “It’s 100 percent heart, because we were out there winded.”
Sanders paced East (10-5) with 19 points and Kelley finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while two teammates — Chelsea Small (13 and nine) and Deidra Smith (13 and eight) — nearly turned in double-doubles of their own.
In fairness, Heritage (9-3) was playing without sophomore Lauren Huggins and key reserve Emma Castleton, each sidelined for about a week with ankle injuries. The Eagles received stellar outings from Kim Lockridge (22 points, 13 rebounds) and Rogan (18 and 11).
“We told the girls to fight because we were down on numbers,” Eagles coach Ron McClurg said. “We had a chance at the end, so I’m all right with it.”
Heritage 12 12 20 19 — 63
East 13 19 17 18 — 67
Heritage — Gutierrez 5 0-0 10, Vukovich 0 1-2 1, Ziegler 2 2-6 6, Lockridge 8 5-12 22, Rogan 6 4-4 18, Ikard 2 0-2 4, Mathis 1 0-0 2. Totals 24 12-26 63.
East — Sanders 6 5-14 19, Taylor 1 0-0 2, C. Small 6 0-1 13, Kelley 5 4-4 14, Smith 5 3-4 13, S. Small 0 0-0 0, Yancey 1 2-2 4, Patterson 0 0-0 0, Carey 1 0-1 2. Totals 25 14-26 67.
3-point goals — H, Rogan 2, Lockridge; E, Sanders 2, C. Small 1. Total fouls — Heritage 19, East 19. Fouled out — Vukovich.
