HIGHLANDS RANCH — Teams are top-ranked for reasons. ThunderRidge, for instance, heads The Associated Press Class 5A girls poll with an array of good players.
But the real reason? The Grizzlies play stress free. There’s no panic. If they get down, so what?
Friday night, ThunderRidge won a road game in what remains the best city rivalry among big-school girls teams. The Grizzlies beat No. 3 Highlands Ranch 51-44 and solidified their stance atop the Continental League as well as the class.
“We like the thrill of the game,” said senior Jessica Zweifel. “We just play our hearts out, no stress at all.”
Point taken. The Grizzlies (13-2, 3-0 Continental) never blinked when a dreadful second quarter produced no points, three missed shots and seven turnovers over the first 5:55. All they did was get within 21-17 of the Falcons, exchange baskets, then make the most plays when it counted down the stretch.
Zweifel led ThunderRidge with 13 points. Jaz’myne Snipes added 11 points, several key rebounds, some even bigger blocked shots and brought an inside presence to match up with Highlands Ranch’s Blaire Braxton and Leilah Vigil. Plus, the Grizzlies were 10-of-10 at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, 18-of-22 in all.
“My kids just have a never-die attitude,” ThunderRidge coach Paula Krueger said. “They just do the little things. … They don’t panic. They’ve done a lot of things to win games.”
Highlands Ranch (12-4, 2-1) certainly competed. And Symone Starks led all scorers with 16 points.
However, coach Caryn Jarocki’s group has only one senior. Plus, the Falcons had turnover trouble, were only 5-of-12 at the free-throw line and got outscored 23-16 down the stretch.
Neil H. Devlin: ndevlin@denverpost.com or
ThunderRidge 12 5 11 23 — 51
Highlands Ranch 12 9 7 16 — 44
ThunderRidge — Ward 0 5-6 5, Rusk 1 2-2 5, Snipes 5 1-2 11, Martinez 3 0-0 8, Zweifel 3 6-6 13, Petties 0 4-6 4, Wiens 1 0-0 2, Birdsey 1 0-0 3, Lohrenz 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 18-22 51.
Highlands Ranch — Opheim 2 0-0 6, Olson 1 0-3 2, Braxton 3 1-3 7, Starks 7 1-1 16, Vigil 5 3-5 13, Stiers 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 5-12 44.
3-point goals — Martinez 2, Birdsey, Rusk, Zweifel; Opheim 2, Starks. Fouled out — Martinez.
