Valor Christian players celebrate their win on Thursday evening. More photos. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)
BOULDER — Valor Christian seniors Kendall Bradbury and Caroline Bryan were simply unstoppable Thursday night at the Coors Events Center in Boulder.
Bradbury and Bryan combined for 53 points as the Eagles showed off its offensive capability with an 87-64 victory over Pueblo West in the Class 4A girls basketball semifinal. The win puts Valor (25-3) in its first girls basketball state championship game.
“We are so motivated. We’ve had a chip on our shoulder and we’ve had something to prove,” said Bradbury, who finished with 28 points on 9-of-13 shooting. “Everyone went out and did their thing. Everyone did their part. It’s amazing to go play for a state championship on Saturday.”
The 4A championship game tips off at 1 p.m. Saturday back at the Coors Events Center. Valor fell short of the title game last year losing to Broomfield in the semifinals.
“We are going to celebrate tonight and enjoy it for the next 20 minutes or so, then get right back out on the court and prepare for Saturday,” Bryan said minutes after the Eagles’ 23-point victory.
More photos. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Valor raced out to an early 9-0 lead and never trailed. Bradbury was unstoppable in the first half shooting 8-for-11 from the field for 19 points. Fellow senior Caroline Bryan added a dozen points in the first half as the Eagles took a 44-35 lead into halftime.
Pueblo West senior Haley Simental did everything in her power to prevent Valor from mounting a bigger lead at halftime. Simental (23 points, including four 3-pointers) led the Cyclones with 11 points at halftime, including a half-court shot at the buzzer of the first quarter.
Junior Shannon Sanchez also had an impressive scoring output, pouring in 19 points for Pueblo West.
However, Valor went on a 15-0 run to start the second half to build its lead to 24 points midway through the third quarter. Pueblo West didn’t score in the second half until Sanchez hit a 3-pointer with 3:35 left in the third quarter.
“We had a really great run,” Bryan said of the Eagles’ start to the second half. “We maintained the pressure on defense. Pueblo West really couldn’t find a rhythm. We never let them get comfortable. I think that was the key.”
Bryan, along with junior teammates Madison McCoy, Sara Gibson and Heidi Hammond looked very relaxed combining to score the Eagles first 13 points of the third quarter. Bryan finished with 25 points.
“I think they (Bradbury and Bryan) work so well off one another,” Valor coach Jessika Caldwell said. “Pick your poison. If you want to double one on the block the other is standing open for a great mid-range shot.”
Gibson (11 points) and Hammond (10 points) each finished in double-figure for Valor as the Eagles shot 57.7 percent from the field for the game.
“I have a lot of confidence in our offense,” Bryan said. “Our coaches trained us very well from the beginning. We have really perfected the offense she (Caldwell) has given us. We executed well tonight.”
Valor is seeking its first basketball state championship in the school’s history. The private school in Highlands Ranch opened in 2007 is aiming for a third girls team title. The Eagles have state titles in girls soccer (2011) and softball (2014).
There are just three blemishes on Valor’s record this season. The Eagles lost to Windward, Calif. at the Nike Tournament of Champions in December. The other two losses were to 4A Jeffco rival D’Evelyn.
Without Bryan because of injury, D’Evelyn defeated Valor 67-63 on Jan. 29. The other loss to D’Evelyn came by forfeit. Valor scheduled one too many and had to forfeit its last regular season game against D’Evelyn on Feb. 20. Valor self-reported the scheduling mistake Feb. 16 to the Colorado High School Activities Association.
“I think it motivated us to go out every day and work harder,” Bradbury said having to forfeit the rematch against D’Evelyn. “We’ve pushed each other to the extreme.”
Pueblo West (22-5) was the last remaining No. 1 seed in the 4A tournament.