HIGHLANDS RANCH — The blueprint for defeating Highlands Ranch consists of two key components. One of those was already out of the question for Horizon in the opening minutes Saturday night.
Key No. 1 for beating the top-ranked Falcons is having a near-perfect night on offense, or at the very least, a scorer who can carry you with a terrific shooting display. Horizon had that, with junior guard Meghan Dyer raining jumpers from the perimeter.
Key No. 2: Don’t let the Falcons get their vaunted fast-break attack going.
The Falcons did, unmercifully so, and they went on to clobber the Hawks 90-45 in a Class 5A nonleague game.
“They’re really quick,” said Dyer, who drilled four 3-pointers in the first half and finished with 18 points. “They get the ball up and down the court every time, and we weren’t able to get back quick enough.”
When Highlands Ranch (5-1) did get into a half-court set, senior guard Michaela Neuhaus was converting 3-pointers of her own (four overall). The Falcons had five players in double figures, including center Katelyn McDaniels’ team-best 18 points and 16 from Neuhaus. Danielle Burns chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds.
“Our team is very deep,” said Falcons senior Lindsay Mallon, who had 11 points and a game-best nine rebounds. “It helps having a bunch of scorers, because if someone is off, someone else will step up. We have people off the bench who are just as good.”
The game undoubtedly would have been better if Horizon (3-2) had the services of projected starting center Kaylie Rader. The sophomore, who averaged a double-double last season, is out for the season because of a knee injury.
“She was our big component,” Dyer said. “We’ve watched our rebounds go down.”
Horizon 12 8 11 14 — 45
Highlands Ranch 27 17 27 19 — 90
Horizon — Ramos 7 2-3 18, Jimenez 1 0-0 2, Dyer 6 2-2 18, Ray 0 0-0 0, Franklin 0 0-0 0, Rasmussen 3 0-0 6, Maes 0 1-2 1, McKeough 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 5-7 45.
Highlands Ranch — Heap 3 0-0 7, Mallon 5 1-1 11, McDaniel 8 2-3 18, Baker 3 3-4 11, Neuhaus 5 2-2 16, Shumpert 1 0-0 2, Yates 2 1-3 5, Burns 6 0-0 12, Morgan 0 1-2 1, Hickey 2 3-4 7. Totals 35 13-19 90.
3-point goals — Dyer 4, Ramos 2; Neuhaus 4, Baker 2, Heap. Fouled out — None. Technicals — None. Total fouls — Horizon 15, HR 13.
