Her final official varsity game was a loss to Highlands Ranch in the semifinals. Then, Carlie Needles finished runner-up to Highlands Ranch’s Katelyn McDaniel for player of the year.
On Saturday, the all-Colorado point guard from ThunderRidge went out on top. She was named the MVP of The Show, the most prestigious of the in-state all-star games, by leading the Blue squad to a 62-53 win against the White at the Pepsi Center.
“It was fun to come out here, win or lose, but it was good to end on a win,” said Needles, who scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half. “I’m just glad to go out like that in my last high school game in Colorado.”
The Blue, coached by Tony Speights of Chaparral, also received contributions from Katie Nehf, Alison Gorrell, Deidra Smith and the Legacy tandem of Kailey Edwards and Sade Akindele, among others. But the Florida-bound Needles was Speights’ go-to player down the stretch.
“She’s a known commodity to me, so I know what she can do,” Speights said. “I’ve coached against her for what seems like forever, so I could go to her because I knew what she was going to give me.”
McDaniel paced the White, coached by Jay Darien of Longmont, with 12 points and six rebounds, and Rocky Mountain’s Kara Spotton added nine points and nine rebounds.
“I’d been out of basketball for a few weeks, so it was actually pretty fun,” said Spotton, who will play at Colorado State. “The girls had an upbeat attitude, regardless of whether we won.”
After trailing by four at the half, the Blue team pulled away in the second. Bay’lee Purdy of Deer Trail, the lone Class 1A representative, drilled a jumper at the third-quarter buzzer to put the Blue up 45-40. Needles closed it out in the fourth.
“From coaches to kids, we all have an ego, whether we like to admit it or not, so it’s fun to win,” Speights said.
Blue 14 8 23 17 — 62
White 12 14 14 13 — 53
Blue — Needles (ThunderRidge) 4 5-7 14, Purdy (Deer Trail) 2 2-2 6, Edwards (Legacy) 2 3-4 7, Nehf (Broomfield) 3 0-0 8, Smith (East) 3 0-0 7, Lough (Fairview) 0 0-0 0, Gorrell (Conifer) 3 1-2 8, Vigil (Front Range Christian) 2 0-0 4, Akindele (Legacy) 3 0-0 6, Johnson (Monarch) 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 11-15 62.
White — Katuna (Longmont) 1 3-3 6, Mileto (Mesa Ridge) 3 0-0 7, McDaniel (Highlands Ranch) 5 2-3 12, Huggins (Heritage) 2 2-2 6, Rooney (Regis Jesuit) 0 0-0 0, Torres (Palmer) 0 1-2 1, Cordova (Rifle) 0 0-0 0, Talamantes (Holy Family) 2 0-0 5, Vander Ploeg (Cheyenne Mountain) 0 3-4 3, Haddock (Longmont) 2 0-0 4, Spotton (Rocky Mountain) 2 4-4 9. Totals 17 15-18 53.
3-point goals — Nehf 2, Needles, Gorrell, Smith; Katuna, Mileto, Talamantes, Spotton. Total fouls — Blue 14, White 11.
