BROOMFIELD — Like her team, Chloe Gearhart was relatively quiet for the first three quarters Friday night.
“I had some dumb fouls early,” the Wheat Ridge junior said. “I just had to play smart.”
In danger of a second-round exit in the Class 4A girls basketball tournament, Gearhart helped rescue the fifth-seeded Farmers in the final quarter of a 48-42 win against No. 4 seed Steamboat Springs.
Gearhart scored eight of her 12 points in the fourth at Eagle Gymnasium, propelling Wheat Ridge (18-6) to today’s Sweet 16 matchup against host Broomfield.
The Eagles, the top seed in the Tanya Haave Region, easily dispatched Mitchell 79-33 in the late game.
Wheat Ridge had to overcome 18 points from Steamboat center Colleen King and 15 points and 11 rebounds from Hannah Moore, but did so by scoring the first eight points of the fourth after entering the period trailing 35-33.
“We had too many empty possessions,” Steamboat coach John Ameen said. “Not just not scoring, but turning it over.”
While the Sailors can take solace in finishing 15-8 two seasons after posting a 4-18 mark, Wheat Ridge advanced to face a Broomfield squad seeking its fourth straight state title. The Eagles have gone 107-3 the past four seasons.
“We’re so ready,” Gearhart said. “We’re not going to let them intimidate us. They’re taller than us, but we’re quick.”
Broomfield (23-1) appeared pretty quick Friday, as eighth-seeded Mitchell (10-15) had no chance after falling to an 18-4 deficit after a quarter. For the sake of comparison, the result was on par with what Broomfield has done in the second round during its title years.
The Eagles won by scores of 61-34 against Castle View last season, 69-31 against Sterling in 2008 and 57-30 against Windsor in 2007.
“We’re not quite at our top form yet,” said junior Tyana Medema, who led Broomfield with 16 points and eight rebounds. “But we keep doing what we do. We don’t slack off at practice at all.”
All 12 Eagles scored, with Katie Nehf adding 14 points. Autumn Chase chipped in 10 points and appeared encouragingly spry on the injured left knee that kept her out for the first half of the season.
The Eagles will take on a Wheat Ridge squad that was vying for a No. 1 seed for part of the season and is not a typical No. 5 seed.
“We’re going to give them our all,” Medema said.
Wheat Ridge 11 10 12 15 — 48
Steamboat Springs 14 10 11 7 — 42
Wheat Ridge — Wilkie 2 0-0 5, Gearhart 4 4-4 12, Madrid 3 1-2 7, Austin 2 0-0 5, O’Connor 2 2-2 6, Wirth 0 0-0 0, Land 5 0-1 11, Madsen 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 7-9 48.
Steamboat Springs — Moore 5 3-3 15, Rae 0 0-0 0, Spitellie 2 0-0 5, King 8 2-2 18, Birch 0 0-0 0, Yost 0 0-0 0, Lettunich 0 2-2 2, Duryea 1 0-1 2. Totals 16 7-8 42.
Three-point goals — W, Wilkie, Austin, Land; S, Moore 2, Spitellie. Total fouls — W, 12; S, 14.
Mitchell 4 9 10 10 — 33
Broomfield 18 17 25 19 — 79
Mitchell — Enriquez 1 2-4 4, Buice 2 3-3 7, Fernandez 0 6-9 6, Margiotta 3 0-0 8, Penzes 0 0-0 0, Jaramillo 0 0-1 0, Jackson 0 1-2 1, Kadijah Borom 0 0-0 0, Kadajah Borom 1 2-4 4, Three Sticks 1 1-4 3. Totals 8 15-27 33.
Broomfield — Nehf 5 2-2 14, Hix 2 1-1 5, Medema 5 6-9 16, Waters 4 1-2 9, Burgesser 2 0-0 4, Rynearson 0 1-2 1, Chase 4 0-0 10, Bradfield 0 2-2 2, Prins 1 5-7 7, Zec 0 4-6 4, Reeves 1 0-0 2, Schreter 1 3-4 5. Totals 25 25-35 79.
Three-point goals — M, Margiotta 2; B, Nehf 2, Chase 2. Total fouls — Mitchell 23, Broomfield 28. Fouled out — Buice, Fernandez, Penzes, Hix.
