BROOMFIELD — The Broomfield girls basketball team slipped out of the shadow of its powerful predecessors Tuesday night.
The Eagles have won three consecutive Class 4A titles but graduated three Division I-bound seniors after last season. The new group was without a marquee win until a heatedly contested 42-37 home victory over Longmont in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 battle.
“For this group here, this is one of those confidence-building wins,” Broomfield coach Mike Croell said. “They knew that, yeah, we’re No. 1-ranked, but everyone talks about last year. This is one they won on their own.”
The Eagles (11-1, 9-0) didn’t look like Broomfield in the final minutes in a matchup of the final two unbeaten teams in the Northern League, missing six consecutive free throws that could have iced things. Bre Burgesser finally nailed a pair with 14 seconds left to stave off the Trojans’ Jamie Katuna-led comeback.
“As soon as I hit that first one, I honestly got chills,” Burgesser said. “It was a great feeling to finally put them away.”
After jumping to a 9-0 lead, Broomfield couldn’t truly shed a resilient Longmont squad. The Trojans (12-1, 9-1) forged one tie (16-16) and drew within two points several times in the second half before absorbing their first loss.
“I think we were intimidated by their size at first,” said Longmont forward Tambre Haddock, who finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds. “After that, I think we were head-to-head. It’s a disappointing loss, but I want to play them again, that’s for sure.”
Katuna entered the game averaging 23.2 points and finished with 16, including all nine for Longmont in the fourth quarter. Broomfield’s Katie Nehf, playing with a heavy heart, swatted a Katuna attempt in the final minute to help preserve the win.
Nehf’s father passed away this month after a long battle with leukemia. In a classy move, Longmont presented flowers to Nehf after the game.
“She’s just a tough kid,” Croell said.
Broomfield, led by Tyana Medema’s 11 points, again played without starting guard Autumn Chase, who is recuperating from a knee injury.
Longmont 10 9 9 9 — 37
Broomfield 14 10 12 6 — 42
Longmont — Arguello 1 0-1 3, Katuna 4 6-9 16, Haddock 6 2-2 14, Kingsbury 1 0-0 2, Carpenter 0 2-2 2, Meier 0 0-2 0, Thornholt 0 0-0 0, VanThuyne 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 10-16 37.
Broomfield — Nehf 1 0-4 3, Hix 1 1-4 4, Medema 4 2-3 11, Waters 5 0-0 10, Burgesser 1 4-4 6, Prins 0 4-4 4, Zec 2 0-0 4, Reeves 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 11-19 42.
3-point goals — Katuna 2, Arguello; Nehf, Hix, Medema. Total fouls — Longmont 18, Broomfield 17. Fouled out — Medema.
