Ralston Valley senior Ashley Van Sickle passes the ball while driving the lane. More photos (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
LAKEWOOD — Round 1 went to Ralston Valley’s girls basketball team Thursday night at Lakewood High School.
The Mustangs (8-1 overall, 1-0 in league), ranked No. 2 in the current CHSAANow.com Class 5A girls hoops poll, got out of the 5A Jeffco League gate in style with a 48-35 road victory over No. 6 Lakewood (5-4, 0-1).
“Coming out and winning on their home court is really big for us,” said Ralston Valley senior Michaela Shaklee, who had four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points. “It’s a good way to start out league.”
Ralston Valley and Lakewood have dominated 5A Jeffco for the past several years. Since Arvada West won the conference title in 2010, either the Mustangs or Tigers have stood atop the league. The past two seasons both finished with identical 13-1 league marks, splitting the two meetings against each other.
Lakewood junior Camilla Emsbo, left, looks for room to operate Thursday. More photos (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“We’ve shared two league championships with them, so to get the away win is important,” Ralston Valley junior Samantha Van Sickle said.
The second meeting during the league season between the two Jeffco powerhouses is scheduled for Jan. 27 at Ralston Valley High School.
“You know Lakewood is going to be full go next time, but it’s nice to know you have one in hand going back to your home court,” Ralston Valley coach Jeff Gomer said. “It’s turned into a nice rivalry. Chris (Lakewood coach Chris Poisson) is a great friend. The kids get a long and it’s always competitive.”
Ralston Valley had great success from long range early on Thursday night making five 3-pointers in the first quarter to jump out to a 15-7 lead. However, the Mustangs went cold in the second quarter and didn’t score until nearly three minutes left before halftime.
Lakewood’s 7-0 run cut the Mustangs’ lead to 15-14.
“We hit some early and started depending on it in the first half way too much,” Gomer said of the 3-pointers. “The second half I thought we did a better job of breaking it down and getting our 3-pointers off a kick outs instead of just firing them up.”
Ralston Valley put up 21 points in the third quarter to take a double-digit lead heading to the final quarter. Senior Sarah Bevington (10 points) got going on the inside and senior Ashley Van Sickle (14 points) hit a pair of floaters in the lane to take control of the game.
Ralston Valley’s Ashley Van Sickle (5) puts a layup over Lakewood’s Jessica Woodhead. More photos (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“The game was played the way we needed it to be played,” Poisson said. “(Ralston Valley) just had more firepower. You could see that in the second half.”
The Tigers were shorthanded without a pair of starters because of injury. Juniors Hannah Renstrom and Kira Emsbo both missed the conference opener, but Poisson said both should be back within the next few weeks.
“Lakewood is still a really good team even without its two starters,” Shaklee said. “I think we really have to be careful with the (Emsbo) twins because they are so talented. We’ve got to be ready when we get them at our house.”
Lakewood’s 6-foot-4 junior Camilla Emsbo led the way for the Tigers with 14 points in the loss.
“We aren’t in the position we wanted to be with so many injuries, but we fought well,” Camilla Emsbo said. “It wasn’t the result we wanted. You can’t win them all.”
It was the first home game for Lakewood this season. The game was emotional for Poisson. It was the first home game without his assistant coach and father, Joe Poisson, by his side. Joe — longtime girls basketball coach at Arvada High School before joining his son’s coaching staff — passed away unexpectedly last spring after a heart attack.
The Tigers have also dealt with the death of Mackenzie Forrest, who passed away after a tragic car accident shortly after Forrest led Lakewood to the state 5A quarterfinals last season to finish her remarkable prep hoops career.
“Everything has been tough,” Poisson said of the losses of his father and Forrest. “I went to a coaches clinic in the fall. My dad would have picked me up. It’s tough, but I’m glad we have those memories.”
Ralston Valley senior Michaela Shaklee (11) dribbles through Lakewood players Thursday night. More photos (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)