D’Evelyn junior Angi Reed sets up for a 3-pointer during the Jaguars’ 55-45 win over Falcon. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletic)
DENVER — The three keys to success for D’Evelyn’s girls basketball team is tempo, tempo and tempo — the quicker, the better for the Jaguars.
That held true Friday night as 15th-seeded D’Evelyn advanced into the round of 16 of the Class 4A state tournament with a 55-45 home victory over No. 18 Falcon. The Jaguars and Falcons were tied at halftime 30-30, but D’Evelyn figured Falcon wouldn’t match the six 3-pointers it made in the first half and the up-tempo pace would eventually favor the Jaguars.
“That’s our style every year,” D’Evelyn junior Angi Reed said. “At halftime coach (Chris Olson) said there was no way they could keep shooting like this and keep running with us. We trusted the process.”
D’Evelyn’s Tori Szathmary, left, attempt to get off a shot. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
D’Evelyn senior Jill Smith opened the second half with a 3-pointer from the corner 10 seconds into the third quarter to give the Jaguars (17-7 overall) the lead, which it would never give up. After a slow start, Smith heated up in the third quarter scoring 11 of her 14 points.
“When she (Smith) gets going it really changes what the defense does,” Olson said. “Angi and Payton (Sampson) can drive to the basket. That’s important for us.”
Smith scored all but three of the Jaguars’ points in the critical third quarter. However, she did assist on D’Evelyn’s only other bucket in the quarter. In a designed play for Smith to take a jumper at the free-throw line, Smith kicked it back out to Reed for a deep, but wide-open 3-pointer.
Reed, who finished with 17 points, drained the long 3-pointer to give D’Evelyn a 40-35 lead with 2:30 left in the third quarter.
“I wasn’t surprised. We are all unselfish,” Reed said of Smith kicking the ball back out to her. “We are looking for the best shot, not a good shot.”
Junior Bailey Marvel (11 points) and sophomore Tori Szathmary (seven points) had strong games battling down low with Falcon senior Jade Adams. The Falcons’ 5-foot-11 post player finished with nine points before fouling out with 2 minutes to play.
D’Evelyn’s Izzy Lopez, left, goes up for a shot Friday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Senior Hanna Diaz finished with a game-high 18 points for Falcon (17-8), as the Falcons’ season came to a close. D’Evelyn held Falcon to just four made field goals and 15 points in the second half.
Falcon came into Friday’s game having won 6-of-7 games. The Falcons also had a quality victory over Valor Christian on the season. Falcon defeated the 2-time defending state champions by a dozen points Dec. 22.
D’Evelyn placed fourth in the deep 4A Jeffco League this year. The Jaguars, along with conference rivals No. 3 Evergreen, No. 6 Valor Christian and No. 9 Golden all grabbed first-round byes. All four advanced into next week’s round of 16.
Next up for D’Evelyn is No. 2 Pueblo West (21-3). The game will be played Tuesday, Feb. 28, in Pueblo.
The Jaguars and Cyclones have plenty of playoff history. D’Evelyn defeated Pueblo West in overtime last season in the opening round of the state tournament. In 2014 the Jaguars defeated the Cyclones in the Sweet 16 and in 2013 D’Evelyn got the better of Pueblo West in the state semifinals.
“I’m excited. We are kind of rivals, I guess,” Smith said of another postseason battle against Pueblo West. “We beat them in overtime last year and we always play them over the summer. I’m excited to play them.”
Pueblo West is on a nine-game winning streak, including a 30-point victory over Greeley Central on Friday night.
“We’ll go down there and give them a great game,” Olson said. “We’ll see what we can do.”
D’Evelyn senior Jill Smith beats Falcon’s defense down the court for a 2nd-half layup. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)