Valor Christian senior Tess Boade, far left, battles for a rebound with D’Evelyn junior Angi Reed and sophomore Tori Szathmary. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
DENVER — Two-time defending Class 4A girls basketball state champion Valor Christian wants to let everyone know the Eagles are still hanging around.
The Eagles (11-8, 6-4 in 4A Jeffco) scored a quality 46-44 win Saturday night against D’Evelyn, ranked No. 9 in the CHSAANow.com 4A girls basketball rankings.
Valor senior Mary Newland had her second consecutive strong game against a 4A top-10 team this week. Newland had a season-high 25 points in a 3-point victory against Golden on Wednesday night. She followed that up with 17 points against D’Evelyn.
A basket in the paint by Newland gave Valor a 45-41 cushion late in the fourth quarter.
D’Evelyn senior Jill Smith had a team-high 16 points for the Jaguars. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“That play was huge,” Valor coach Jessika Caldwell said of Newland’s basket in the paint with just more than a minute to play.
D’Evelyn junior Angi Reed scored on a driving layup in the final seconds to cut the lead to two points, but it wasn’t enough. The Jaguars (13-6, 5-5) have now lost three of their last four conference games in the tough 4A Jeffco League.
“We’ll have four more, just like tonight,” D’Evelyn coach Chris Olson said of the difficult conference. “If it doesn’t pay off in the playoffs you’ve missed out on a great opportunity.”
Caldwell agrees that playing in 4A Jeffco provides an advantage when the playoffs begin in a few weeks.
“I think our league is so strong from top to bottom. Everyone can compete,” Caldwell said. “I think it will continue to help us learn how to play in close games and compete against the best.”
While No. 2 Evergreen (17-1, 9-1) and No. 5 Golden (16-3, 8-2) appear to be in a two-team race for the 4A Jeffco title, D’Evelyn and Valor will have a say in the final outcome.
Valor hosts Evergreen next Saturday. D’Evelyn faces off against Golden in the final night of conference play Feb. 16. Evergreen and Golden have their league rematch Tuesday at Golden High School.
D’Evelyn senior Angi Reed, right, looks to pass the ball. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“One of the things I’m learning about our league this year is every team is really hard to score against,” Olson said. “It’s a really tough league to try to score points and I think we get a little frustrated mentally. It throws us off.”
D’Evelyn senior Jill Smith had a team-high 16 points in the loss against Valor. Shooting 9-of-21 from the free-throw line was disappointing for the Jaguars.
“Trust me, we are practicing them,” Olson said of the Jaguars’ struggles at the free-throw line in league games. “It’s just hard to put them in a pressure situation in practice.”
Valor has now won three straight heading into the stretch run of the regular season.
“Our girls have been fighting all season. Our record doesn’t necessarily show that,” Caldwell said. “We’ve been coming away with 6 and 8-point losses. It comes down to one or two possessions.”
It could be a wild final two weeks of the regular season in 4A Jeffco.
D’Evelyn junior Bailey Marvel (15) passes the ball during Saturday’s 4A Jeffco League game. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)