The third blowout of the night was over quickly — the Grizzlies grabbed the lead early, expanded it and ran away from the Mustangs, winning 57-36 during the 5A state girls basketball quarterfinals Friday at the Denver Coliseum.
ThunderRidge, a No. 1 seed, will take a 24-2 record into the final four. Ralston Valley ended 19-7.
Grizzlies coach Paula Krueger called her team’s advancement to the University of Colorado’s Coors Events Center next week “a viable goal” at the beginning of the season, but both she and her team want more.
Jaz’myne Snipes, a junior, not only scored inside with regularity, but spearheaded the Grizzlies press that gave the Mustangs fits. Snipes finished with 14 points.
And senior Taylor Rusk led the Grizzlies with 19 points.
“None of us have ever been to a final four, so it’s very exciting,” Rusk said.
ThunderRidge broke it open for good with a 19-6 binge in the third quarter. The Grizzlies also outrebounded the Mustangs 36-20, including 12 on the offensive end, and caused 22 turnovers.
Jefferson County’s Ralston Valley, which went 15-1 in league, has issues scoring. The Mustangs shot only 11-of-27 (29.7 percent), and were just 6-of-21 in 3-pointers.
Morgan Nishida had a team-high 14 points.
