LAFAYETTE — As the foul shots continued drop for Kyra Peterson, the Centaurus girls basketball team’s chances for a league title exponentially increased.
The No. 4 Warriors haven’t crowned themselves Class 4A Jefferson County League champions yet, but the pieces are in place after they outlasted No. 8 Wheat Ridge 57-48 on Tuesday night.
Centaurus’ 14th consecutive victory avenged a December loss to Wheat Ridge and means the Warriors need only to defeat Arvada (8-13 entering Tuesday) to clinch the league crown.
“The ladies had the idea of redemption after losing the first game to them, because we didn’t feel like we played very well,” Centaurus coach Jeff Jackson said. “That was the goal. It wasn’t about league, because that stuff will fall into place for us when it happens.”
Each team entered 11-1 in league play along with Conifer. Centaurus would win a tiebreaker with Conifer by virtue of defeating the Lobos in their lone matchup.
The Warriors (19-3, 12-1) won this one by building a 16-point halftime cushion, then holding off a late Wheat Ridge rally with Peterson’s free throws. En route to a game-best 23 points, the senior guard drilled 13-of-14 overall from the line, including 11-of-12 in the fourth quarter.
“It looked like, at the end, they didn’t want to foul her anymore,” Jackson said. “She had taken care of business so they wanted to wait until the ball was out of her hands.”
The conversions in the latter going were especially key in holding off a Wheat Ridge (15-6, 11-2) squad that hit four threes in the final quarter and twice trimmed the deficit to five points.
“I was just thinking ‘please go in,’ ” Peterson said with a laugh. “Really, I would just step up to the line with confidence, knowing that free throws win big games like this one.”
Kelsey O’Connor led Wheat Ridge with 18 points and eight rebounds, but was relatively held in check compared to the 25 she scored in the Farmers’ win against Centaurus.
“I think they scouted as well,” O’Connor said. “They knew our plays and how to get us frazzled.”
Centaurus also got production from the post tandem of Nikki Lindow and Monarch-transfer Andi Houck. While the pair produced only a combined 10 points, the grabbed 15 rebounds and altered many Wheat Ridge shots in the post.
“It’s frustrating because we really wanted this one bad,” O’Connor said. “But we’re excited to go into the tournament and show teams what we really have.”
Wheat Ridge 7 8 13 20 — 48
Centaurus14 17 9 17 – 57
Wheat Ridge — Wilkie 1 1-2 4, Gearhart 2 0-2 6, Madrid 0 0-0 0, Austin 4 1-2 11, O’Connor 5 8-14 18, Wirth 1 1-2 3, Madsen 0 1-2 1, Land 1 2-2 5. Totals 14 14-26 48.
Centaurus — Puckett, Ortega, Hermann, Peterson, Houck, Lindow, Weidman. Totals.
3-point goals — W, Gearhart 2, Austin 2, Wilkie, Land; C, K. Peterson 2, Puckett. Total fouls — Wheat Ridge 28, Centaurus 18. Fouled out — Wilkie, Austin, Lindow, Houck.
