LITTLETON — It’s not how you start the season, it’s how you finish.
Columbine girls basketball team had a tough start to the season missing the first week of the regular season due to a COVID quarantine. The Rebels held a 4-4 record after back-to-back Class 5A Jeffco League losses to Valor Christian and Chatfield two weeks ago.
However, the Rebels (8-4 record) grabbed its fourth straight victory Friday night with a come-from-behind 44-36 road victory in the rematch against rival Chatfield, ranked No. 13 in the CHSAANow.com 5A girls basketball rankings.
Columbine junior Jessica Bollwahn (12) scored a game-high 19 points for the Rebels in their 44-36 victory over No. 13 Chatfield. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“You never know what you are going to get walking in here,” Columbine coach Greg Bolding Jr. said. “They (Chatfield) is missing two of their big players and I think mentality we weren’t ready for that.”
The Chargers (11-3) were without leading scorer Grace Talbot and fellow junior Peyton Shepard in the regular-season finale for both squads. However, Chatfield held a 20-10 lead when senior Madison Shepard buried a 3-pointer midway through the second quarter.
Shepard and junior Millie Hubbell combined for 18 points in the first half to pace the Chargers, but the Rebels went on a 9-0 run to close out the final 3 minutes of the first half to cut Chatfield’s lead to 23-22 at halftime.
“It was just desire,” Bolding said of the Rebels turning things around after falling behind 20-10. “Our base is our defense. We had to be more disciplined on the defensive side. We had some young kids come in and change the tempo a little.”
Junior Jessica Bollwahn was the huge difference maker for Columbine. The junior forward scored a season-high 19 points to bolt the Rebels past the Chargers.
Bollwahn’s biggest basket came with 5:29 left in the fourth quarter. The junior spun the ball off the backboard for a layup from a tough angle and was fouled. She completed the 3-point play to give the Rebels their largest lead of the game at 40-27.
“Honestly, when it went in I was like, ‘Thank god.’ We really needed that,” Bollwahn said of the 3-point play. “We have really been focusing on finishing our shots.”
Chatfield senior Courtney Bidwell spots up from 3-point range Friday night against rival Columbine. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Bollwahn had one more strong basket inside the paint before senior Adrienne Harnum had a steal and layup to seal the victory for the Rebels.
“I’ve been on her about the finish mindset,” Bolding said of Bollwahn. “It took the air of out Chatfield I thought when that went in. She leads us on and off the court.”
Shepard finished with a game-high 13 points for Chatfield. Hubbell finished with four 3-pointers for her dozen points off the bench for the Chargers. The hope is Talbot will be back for the playoffs next week.
The Chargers and Rebels now await the state brackets, which are scheduled to be released by CHSAA on Monday, March 8.
“Of course you are hoping for a home game no matter what,” Bolding said of the playoff seeding. “We have no control over that. I’ve been preaching to these kids to play defense. We can control that.”
The state bracket was trimmed down to a 32-team tournament in 5A this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and shortened season. The state tournament is normally a 48-team bracket with the top 16 seeds getting first-round byes. There will be no first-round byes this season. All teams will have first-round games Tuesday, March 9.
“Beating Chatfield on their home court is a big goal for us,” Bollwahn said. “This good mentality and adrenaline will help us going into playoffs.”
Chatfield senior Madison Shepard (3) drives between Columbine freshman Elizabeth Gentry, left, and junior Jessica Bollwahn in the regular-season finale for the Chargers and Rebels on Friday night. Columbine won 44-36 for the Rebels’ 4th straight win going into next week’s Class 5A state tournament. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)