BROOMFIELD — “We’re not finished yet.”
No, coach Mike Croell said he’s only finished with directing home games for Broomfield’s Eagles. He’s calling it a career when the season is completed.
But it may not be completed for another week and a half — as long as Broomfield is winning, its games will be on neutral courts.
On Tuesday night, Broomfield had to fend off pesky Pine Creek 73-53 in the Class 5A Sweet 16, a 20-point victory that felt a lot closer. Broomfield (23-2) ran to a 17-3 lead and finished strongly but in between had to work to deal with the school from Colorado Springs, which ended 18-7 and was quite competitive for much of the game.
Ultimately, a 23-of-25 effort at the free-throw line, including 13-of-13 in the fourth quarter, and solid performances by Broomfield’s front-liners proved decisive. Junior Brenna Chase had 21 points and was backed by Brenna Fankell (21), Nicole Lehrer (16) and Callie Kaiser (14), a Colorado State signee.
However, this one mostly was about sending Croell, Broomfield’s current favorite and native son, off in style by advancing to Friday’s Great 8 at the Denver Coliseum, where Broomfield will take on Jefferson County’s Lakewood, and perhaps generating a sixth title for the wildly popular coach in his first year of big schools. The first five times were won in 4A — and in succession, from 2007-11.
“It’s in the back of our minds,” said Fankell, who was active and strong inside. “We’re just going to go out and play as hard as we can.”
Croell, who stands 454-69 in 20 years leading the program and whose teams have never finished short of the quarterfinals, politely thanked the usual crowd that almost always fills the town’s gymnasium and seemed humbled by the tribute as well as the fact that he soon will be done as a coach.
“This is not about me. It’s about the great players who have been in this program,” he said.
He added that his current players “did a great job of keeping their heads” not only on Tuesday, but throughout his farewell season. “It will be tough to say goodbye,” Croell said.
Neil H. Devlin: ndevlin@denverpost.com or
(4) Pine Creek: 11 19 9 14 — 53
(2) Broomfield: 20 16 12 25 — 73
Pine Creek — McKeehan 0 0-0 0, Lydiatt 2 0-0 5, Collins 0 0-2 0, Esterle 2 2-4 6, Odom 0 0-2 0, Lindsey 8 4-7 21, List 5 4-5 14, Stanton 3 0-0 7. Totals 20 10-20 53.
Broomfield — Kaiser 4 4-4 14, Stirling 0 0-0 0, Reed 0 0-0 0, Kern 1 0-0 3, Lehrer 3 10-11 16, Chase 7 6-6 21, Fankell 8 3-4 19, Byrne 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 23-25 73.
3-pt. goals — Lindsay, Lydiatt, Stanton; Chase, Kaiser 2, Kern.
