Having had its heels nipped at throughout the third quarter Wednesday night, East found itself trailing Ponderosa early in the fourth quarter for the first time since early in the first.
That’s when senior guard Samantha Sanders checked in and coach Dwight Berry quipped that it was time for his starting guard to earn her keep.
Who says kids today don’t listen?
Sanders promptly drilled a 3-pointer, giving the Angels the lead for good in what became an easy 55-43 Class 5A state tournament victory, propelling them into Saturday’s quarterfinal round.
“We stayed focused,” Berry said.
The Angels (20-5), seeded No. 2 in the Sharon Wilch Region, won their 14th consecutive game and will next play top-seeded and tournament favorite Highlands Ranch at the Denver Coliseum. The third-seeded Mustangs finished 16-9.
The Angels rode their superior rebounding, inside play and transition game to an early 11-point lead. The transition game and inside game dwindled, and the Mustangs tied the score three times in the third quarter before Hayley Peppers opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer to put the visitors up 36-35.
Enter Sanders. Her 3-pointer from the left wing went in with 6:39 remaining, and the Angels used the next four minutes to go on a 9-0 run, eventually stretching their lead to 16 points on Shae Kelley’s free throw.
“We want this a lot, and we work so hard,” Kelley said. “It does come down to (that) we get fatigued a little bit late in the game, but you just got to push through that.”
The 6-foot Kelley and 6-2 junior Deidra Smith were too much for the Mustangs to handle inside. Kelley had a game-high 17 points, 11 rebounds and blocked a shot, while Smith posted 16 points, 14 rebounds and a block. Sanders added 10 points, and Chelsea Small, who followed Sanders’ 3-pointer with one of her own, had seven points.
Having given up 19 points in the first quarter, the Mustangs held the Angels to 16 in the second and third quarters combined. Sam Schreiber (eight points, nine rebounds) was solid in the paint, and Hannah Paust (11 points) attacked the rim.
“We made our run. They responded, made some key plays offensively,” Mustangs coach Marty Fletcher said. “But it was a terrific high school basketball game. It was worthy of a Sweet 16 game.”
Ponderosa 10 12 11 10 — 43
East 19 8 8 20 — 55
Ponderosa — Tronick 2 2-4 6, Paust 2 6-10 11, Amund- sen 0 0-0 0, Peppers 3 1-2 9, Scheiber 4 0-2 8, M. Kroskob 1 4-6 6, Coviello 0 0-0 0, Seichter 0 0-0 0, Murray 0 0-0 0, Flax 1 1-1 3. Totals 13 14-25 43.
East — Sanders 3 3-6 10, Taylor 1 1-4 3, C. Small 3 0-0 7, Kelley 6 5-9 17, Smith 6 4-5 16, S. Small 1 0-0 2, Brame 0 0-0 0, Yancy 0 0-0 0, Sally 0 0-0 0, Lunka 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 13-24 55.
3-point goals — Peppers 2, Paust; Sanders, C. Small. Total fouls — Ponderosa 23, East 17. Fouled out — Paust, Amundsen. Technicals — None.
