(Kelsey Lowry/CHSAANow.com)
COLORADO SPRINGS — Megan Engesser didn’t have the best second half of her season. But she came up clutch when the CSCS Lions needed her the most.
Engesser knocked the ball out of Cali Clark’s hands, got fouled and made the two free throws needed to help the Class 3A No. 3 Lions close out a 32-38 over Lamar on Friday.
For CSCS (13-2 overall, 7-0 Tri-Peaks), this game has been almost a year in the making. It was the No. 5 Savages who won the previous meeting, which happened in the 3A title game at the University of Denver last March.
“We wanted it bad,” Engesser said. “We’ve been practicing for 10 months just thinking about this game.”
Engesser came into the game averaging 22 points per game, but was ended 10 shy of that mark. But each basket, each free throw came a crucial time for the Lions.
And they needed those clutch moments after a rough start to the game. They struggled on the glass early as 12 of the Savages’ first 18 points came on second-chance opportunities.
“You just have to go get the ball,” CSCS coach Mark Engesser said. “You have to go get the ball with every ounce of strength you have and we did that in the second half.”
They also clamped down defensively. The Savages (10-3, 4-2) only scored four total field goals in the entire second half. Brecken Payne scored three on her own in the first and score nine of her team-high 11 points in the first half.
The Lions knew that if they were going to get beat, it was going to be by Payne or really anyone other than Clark.
(Kelsey Lowry/CHSAANow.com)
The sophomore standout was double-teamed much of the game only scored nine.
“They didn’t really do anything that was real impressive,” Lamar coach Erik Melgoza said. “If you’re hanging on somebody they can’t shoot.”
The Lions held a three-point lead going into the fourth quarter and neither team was able to find an offensive rhythm.
CSCS extended its lead thanks to a basket from Rachel Ingram, but the key was not allowing the Savages to score at all until there was a minute left in the game. Clark was able to bank a 3-point to pull Lamar to within four.
Bailee Lee scored her only basket of the game to cut the CSCS lead to two and the Savages were able to make a steal and get the ball back with a chance to tie or win.
The Savages got the ball to Clark who was moving for an open shot when Engesser took a swipe and knocked the ball loose, sealing the game.
“The girls wanted this,” Mark Engesser said. “But they still have to get better. You still have Lamar and St. Mary’s and Centarui. Any one of these teams can beat each other so you have to keep getting better.”
The Lions will get a shot at the state’s current No. 1 team in two weeks when they play league rival St. Mary’s. At the rate both teams are going, that could be the game to decide the regular season Tri-Peaks title.