ARVADA — Ralston Valley’s girls basketball simply found a way to win Tuesday night despite the odds.
The Mustangs — No. 6 in this week’s CHSAANow.com Class 5A girls basketball standings — shot under 30 percent from the field and were outscored by Mountain Vista in three of four quarters in the non-league games. However, Ralston Valley walked off its home court with its seventh straight win after a 49-44 victory.
“We kind of needed one like this,” Ralston Valley coach Jeff Gomer said. “We haven’t played a close game in a long time. We needed some adversity going into the playoffs.”
Ralston Valley senior Brooklyn Seymour (14) drives to the basket during the Mustangs’ 49-44 victory over Mountain Vista on Tuesday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Ralston Valley (9-2 record) looked to be in control with a 20-8 lead after the first quarter, but Mountain Vista (6-5) gave the Mustangs all they wanted for the final three quarters.
The Golden Eagles knocked down seven 3-pointers in the final three quarters, while Ralston Valley didn’t make a 3-pointer after the first quarter and finished the game 2-for-15 from long range.
“There is definitely a lot to learn,” Ralston Valley senior Sydney Bevington said. “When Mountain Vista started knocking down 3-pointers they got the momentum and we got sloppy. We got away with it tonight, but we won’t get away with it against a better team.”
Mountain Vista never took the lead, but cut the Mustangs’ lead down to as few as 3 points in the second half. Senior Sara Vafaie led the Golden Eagles with 16 points, including a trio of 3-pointers.
“There was a minute there where it was getting a little hectic, but Gomer calmed us down a little bit,” Bevington said. “We just needed to focus. At one point we were just throwing up shots because we were so rushed.”
Ralston Valley went to a sagging man-to-man defense in the fourth quarter that was able to slow down Mountain Vista’s offense. In fact, there was a stretch of nearly five minutes in the fourth quarter than neither team scored.
“When we were having problems scoring that is when I decided to spread the floor,” Gomer said. “We are a good free-throw shooting team. I figured we would get to the line, but that didn’t go well either.”
The Mustangs missed the front-end of three one-and-one attempts from the free-throw line late in the fourth quarter. However a pair of free throws by freshman Sophia Sabus and one from senior Brooklyn Seymour in the final minute helped seal the victory. Seymour pulled down a whopping 14 rebounds in the win.
Ralston Valley junior Saya Sabus, left, finds her path to the hoop blocked by Mountain Vista senior Madrid Klabunde during the first half Tuesday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“We will definitely be going hard in practice the next few days,” said Ralston Valley junior Saya Sabus, who combined with her younger sister for 19 points.
Bevington had her normal consistent night with 16 points to lead the way for the Mustangs. The four-year starter is in her final days as a Mustang, something she isn’t ready to dwell on yet.
“I don’t want to think about it. It’s sad,” said Bevington, who has signed to play at Santa Clara University. “It has been good.”
Bevington has been much better than good over the past four years. She will finish her career with some remarkable stats … 1,000+ points, 700+ rebounds, 300+ assists, 200+ steals and 100+ blocks.
“She plays both ends of the court. She rebounds, blocks shots … we ask her to do a lot,” Gomer said about Bevington. “She is probably the best all-around player we’ve ever had. I’ve had some girls that were maybe better in some spots, but she does everything. It’s been a great career and she has become a great leader for us.”
Ralston Valley’s record is 68-20 over the past four seasons with Bevington being a big piece of the puzzle. She also had some large shoes to fill right away. Ashley Van Sickle, a junior now playing hoops at Montana State University, finished with nearly 1,400 points running the Mustangs’ offense for four straight years before Bevington.
“I had a really good point guard who was ahead of me. She was a great scorer,” Bevington said of Van Sickle. “I wanted to standout in a few other areas and be an all-around player. I’ve been able to do that thankfully and contribute any way that I can.”
Ralston Valley closes out the regular season with a road game at Lewis-Palmer on Saturday, followed up with home games next week against Lakewood and Denver East. The state tournament brackets are scheduled to be released Monday, March 8, with first-round games starting up March 9.
Ralston Valley senior McKenna Nichols lines up a 3-pointer during the second quarter Tuesday night. The Mustangs won their seventh straight game with a 49-44 victory over Mountain Vista. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)