Last year, the story line after Evergreen’s Class 4A victory over Pueblo South was one of well-earned coronation — after falling in the championship the year before, the Cougars achieved program history with a first state title.
It was the same result, but different narrative, during Saturday’s title rematch between the two girls hoops behemoths as Evergreen posted a wire-to-wire 46-38 victory over Pueblo South.
“Last year, we were the underdog and we came out and won it,” senior guard Hannah Kennedy said. “This year, that’s all we could think about the whole season, and I’m just so proud of our team for actually following through and accomplishing it when we were the favorite.”
And this time, coach Amy Bahl’s team withstood a physical and up-tempo Pueblo South effort to not only seal the repeat title, but the performance put an exclamation mark on Evergreen’s dominance over the past several seasons while putting the dynasty label in play.
Evergreen jumped out to a 7-0 lead halfway through the first as the Colts became the latest team to fall victim to a lack of early offensive flow at the Denver Coliseum. By the time the Cougars extended their advantage to 13-3, it looked like the Colts might get run out of the arena.
But then Pueblo South found its rhythm from distance, as all three of its first quarter field goals were 3-pointers, and by the time senior guard Maya Austin drilled another early in the second, Evergreen’s lead was only 15-12.
The Colts finished 5-of-8 from beyond the arch in the first half, but Evergreen still took a 25-18 lead into the locker room that could’ve been a lot more.
“We kept (Pueblo South junior Gabi) Lucero at zero points for the first half, so we were doing good with her,” Kennedy said. “We knew we needed to get a hand up on shooters on the perimeter, and that’s basically the only change we made.”
In the third, the Evergreen senior guard trio of Kennedy, Baylee Galan-Browne and Kristina Schreiber all played big, while sophomore Hayley Dillon and senior Meriel Hahn complemented the play of junior forward Claudia Dillon inside.
Plus, the Cougars (25-2, Jeffco League champions) limited the Colts’ effectiveness on the perimeter with close-out defense.
The elder Dillon led the Cougars with 13 points, while Hahn had 12 and Schreiber and Galan-Browne each had nine. Dillon and Hahn also both recorded double-doubles with 28 combined rebounds.
Pueblo South (18-9) was paced by 14 points by junior guard Drea Nelson in a game in which all but four of Pueblo South’s field goals were from deep.
Pueblo South — 9 9 8 12 — 38
Evergreen — 15 10 7 14 — 46
Colts — Dupree 2 2-3 7, Nelson 4 3-7 14, Austin 2 0-0 6, Crowell 2 0-0 5, Lucero 1 4-6 6, Sanford 0 0-2 0. Totals: 11 9-18 38.
Cougars — Scheiber 4 0-0 9, Kennedy 1 0-1 3, Galan-Browne 3 2-2 9, Hahn 5 2-4 12, Dillion 5 3-5 13. Totals: 18 7-12 46.
3-pt. goals — Nelson 3, Austin 2, Crowell, Dupree; Scheiber, Kennedy, Galan-Browne
Relive the archived broadcast:
4A Girls All-Tournament Team
MVP: Claudia Dillon, Evergreen Jr. F
Maya Austin, Pueblo South Sr. G
Chloe Welch, Mesa Ridge Sr. G
Aaliyah Ricketts, Widefield Jr. G
Ashley Bowen, Mesa Ridge Jr. F
