(Brie Thomas/CHSAANow.com)
BROOMFIELD — With hopes of making it back to the state championship this year, the No. 1 Broomfield Lady Eagles came out with the intensity they needed to get one step closer.
Broomfield came out on top, taking down No. 4 Fruita Monument 45-35 in the Class 5A girls Sweet 16, punching a ticket to the Denver Coliseum for Friday’s Great 8.
It took a while for both teams to get into an offensive rhythm, as each team couldn’t get a basket to drop until almost two minutes into the game.
For Fruita Monument, the pressure that Broomfield was providing was causing them to turn the ball over more than they would have liked.
“I thought we played scared in the first half, we didn’t execute of the defense end, we were tentative on offense, so we missed a lot of foul shots,” Fruita Monument coach Michael Wells said.
Fruita turned the ball over 19 times Tuesday night.
“I think thats from playing scared, they didn’t do anything that we weren’t ready for but we just didn’t attack it like we have,” Wells said. “They are a good team and you cant give them extra opportunities.”
The Wildcats were looking to get into the swing of things and thats exactly what they did, as both Riley Synder and Alexis Prall each knocked down a 3-pointer, putting Fruita up 11-8 at the end of the first quarter.
The game really took a turn when the Eagles were able to figure out their defense in the second quarter.
“We did a better job as far as rotation, talk and just identifying their threats,” Broomfield coach Derek Seifried said. “I think any solid ball club is going to understand who their threats are and who their weakest links are, we did a good job of that.”
They held Fruita to only five points in the second quarter, three of those points coming off free throws. While Broomfield’s defense was shining, a spark in their offense also came alive.
They scored 15 second quarter point in a total team effort, as five different players contributed to the scoreboard. Broomfield’s Brenna Chase tallied up 16 points on the night and was a stealing machine.
Chase’s intensity could be seen throughout the whole gym as she never gave up on the ball. The Eagles used their rather famous full court press for the majority of the game, ultimately leading to the Fruita Monument turnovers.
Broomfield found themselves up seven heading into the locker room, after a Delyanie Byrne buzzer beater.
The effort displayed by Broomfield in the third quarter, seemed to put the game away as they extended their lead to double digits.
The Wildcats entered foul trouble early in the third quarter giving Broomfield the perfect opportunity to get the ball low to their two post players, Brenna Fankell and Byrne. They combined for nine out of the 11 points in the third quarter.
Heading into the fourth quarter the frustration began to set in for Fruita Monument, as they were unable to keep the ball under control, leading to 12 fourth quarter points for Broomfield.
With the clock winding down and Fruita down by nine the fouling began, as they sent three different players to line. Broomfield knocked down eight free throws in the fourth quarter, leading to the win for the Eagles.
“It means a lot,” Chase said. “Coming from last year, we didn’t know how everything was going to pan out and if things were going to be the same, were just trying to take this one game at a time and get all the way up to that next level.”