(Danielle Ennis/CHSAANow.com)
DENVER — Last March, Manitou Springs lost by two to Sterling in the Final 4 in a stinging end to their season.
This season, the Mustangs got their redemption, winning by 15 points to send themselves to the first championship appearance in school history with a 54-39 win over Sterling.
The No. 3 Mustangs started the game with an early ten-point stretch and continued to lead for the first 16 minutes, heading into halftime with a 20-15 advantage.
After a slow start to the third quarter, Manitou went on a scoring streak that extended their lead to 11. Driven by junior Shelby Megyeri, the lead only continued to grow.
Layups and threes were consistently matched with steals on the other end. After three periods of play, the Mustangs led by 15, their biggest of the night.
For a moment at the start of the fourth quarter, things began to shift. Jenna Knudson and the Tigers found their roar, attacking with a press.
A steal and fast-break layup cut into the Mustangs’ lead and forced a Manitou timeout. But Sterling didn’t quiet down, nailing an immediate jumper and forcing yet another timeout, followed by a three to come within seven. But with three minutes left, and a bout of fouling, it was too late to catch up.
When the buzzer sounded, Manitou had taken this season’s matchup.
Though Sterling played a physical game at the boards, its offense and strong ball movement was marred by their opponent’s undying defense.
Megyeri led her squad with 16 points, while junior Abbey Browrer tallied 14 for the Tigers.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Megyeri said. “We have worked all season for this and we are ready and focused for tomorrow. After three years of this group being together, we really play well as a team now. Starting strong both (Friday) and (Thursday) were big parts of our win, and defense took it home for us.”
In the second game of the evening, No. 5 Lutheran had the edge over No. 9 Centauri with a 41-34 win to send them to the championship.
Though they kept the underdogs to only three points in the first quarter, by the end of the first half, the Falcons only trailed by five.
In the third quarter, Centauri began hitting the important shots, bringing the deficit to a mere three points and beginning a back-and-forth battle with the favored Lions.
But strong drives from Senior point guard Kristin Vigil kept Lutheran at the lead. Centauri brought it to three again with only two minutes left in regulation play, but Lutheran pulled ahead in the final minutes and came out on top.
Vigil finished with 12 points while Veronica Fringer tallied 16 points for the Falcons.
“We have to do everything we did tonight,” Vigil of Saturday’s matchup. “Manitou is really great but we’ve played them and we know what to expect. We just have to grind it out.”
Manitou Springs and Lutheran will play for the championship on Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the Denver Coliseum.