BROOMFIELD — Less than 24 hours after upsetting No. 3-seeded Roosevelt, the No. 6 Sierra Stallions’ Cinderella story came to an end Saturday.
It was expected, with the Stallions matching up against the five-time defending Class 4A girls state champion Broomfield Eagles, the No. 2 seed in the Tanya Haave Region.
But the Stallions (17-9) put up a good battle early, taking a one-point lead at halftime before the Eagles took charge in the second half to win 62-43 and advance to the 4A quarterfinals.
“They were playing with a ton of confidence and had nothing to lose,” Broomfield coach Mike Croell said of the Stallions.
Down 26-25 at halftime, Broomfield (21-4) outscored Sierra 37-17 in the second half to win going away.
“Nobody expected us to be here in the first place,” Sierra coach Joe Williams said. “They fought today to try to move on. In the end, it just wasn’t it.”
In the first quarter, Broomfield controlled the tempo — picking up rebounds and driving through open lanes. That produced an 18-9 advantage at the first break.
But the usually calm and collected Eagles team didn’t look the part in the second quarter. The Eagles lost a 12-point lead when the Stallions went on a 15-1 run.
“They definitely zoned us, and our weak point is being zoned,” said Broomfield sophomore Brianna Williams, who tied for game-high scoring honors (20 points) with Sierra’s Chelsea Barrett.
After some defensive pressure by Sierra to start the third quarter, the Eagles broke free. They ended up outscoring the Stallions 23-6 in the third quarter.
“We just changed up our defenses and stressed finishing,” Croell said.
Williams said his team didn’t have enough left in the tank for a second comeback.
“They just jumped on us in the third quarter,” he said, “and we just used so much energy in that second quarter.”
Broomfield will play No. 1-seeded Air Academy (23-2) in the Great Eight on March 3 at Colorado School of Mines’ Lockridge Arena in Golden.
Air Academy defeated Glenwood Springs 59-24 on Saturday.
Sierra: 9 17 6 11 — 43
Broomfield: 18 7 23 14 — 62
Sierra: Barrett 9 2-2 20, Barnes 2 2-4 6, Davis 0 0-0 0, Dixon 3 0-0 8, Ethridge 0 0-0 0, Marks 0 0-0 0, Odia 4 1-4 9, Watkins 0 0-2 0. Totals: 18 5-12 43.
Broomfield: Croell 2 1-1 5, Duffy 0 0-0 0, Hull 2 1-2 5, Kaiser 5 1-2 13, Lehrer 1 2-2 5, Prins 2 4-6 8, Rohrbaugh 0 0-0 0, Rynearson 0 1-2 1, Schreter 0 1-2 1, Stovall 0 0-0 0, Wilber 7 5-10 20, Zec 2 0-0 4. Totals: 21 16-27 62.
3-point goals: Dixon 2; Kaiser 2, Lehrer, Wilber.
