Valor Christian wins 4A in capturing first girls basketball title
BOULDER — The Valor Christian girls basketball team has supremely gifted scorers.
Kendall Bradbury and Caroline Bryan, versatile 5-foot-10 forwards equally capable in the post and perimeter, and Madison McCoy, a knockdown shooter and distributor, capped off a nightmarish playoffs for the opposition with an impressive 73-47 blowout of Sand Creek (23-4) in the Class 4A state final on Saturday.
The win at the Coors Events Center earned Valor (26-3) their first state championship in program history.
Two days after Sand Creek’s defense seemed invincible in a 59-31 handling of Longmont in the Final 4, Valor outscored Longmont’s game total in the first half alone as they took a 38-29 lead. Those weapons knifed the heart of the Scorpions’ defense.
Liah Davis, Sand Creek’s enormous 6-foot-2 post who dominated as an intimidating rim protector this season, was forced out of her comfort zone Saturday. The junior had to guard both Bradbury and Bryan.
Bradbury got started inside with 11 of Valor’s first 13 points. Then, the tandem’s shooting touch forced Davis out to the perimeter and opened up the lane for the Eagles’ slashers. Valor moved the ball well and found their many deep threats burying 9-of-18 shots from beyond the arc.
“I knew I had to start quick the whole tournament,” Bradbury said. “I had to get inside and get my rhythm that way first. Then, when I knocked down that three, I was just feeling it. When they switched Liah on me, Caroline was open. She took over in the post. I had to get going early and I knew the team could take it from there.”
A small early lead turned into Valor drowning Sand Creek’s hopes as the Scorpions only scored 18 points after halftime.
More than anything, Valor’s offense executed to perfection, just as they had throughout the state tournament.
“Our offense is designed for inside and out,” Valor coach Jessika Caldwell said. “One of our keys to victory was that we had to go inside in order to go outside. We wanted to get Kendall touches, we wanted to get Caroline touches. That’s what opened up the rest of the game for Heidi and Caroline and Madison from the outside.”
The seniors Bryan (22 points, 16 rebounds) and Bradbury (20 points), after combining for 53 points in the Eagles’ easy Final 4 win over Pueblo West on Thursday, looked unstoppable again.
Bradbury, averaging over 22 per game, and company also blistered Denver North 92-23, Windsor 70-25, Holy Family 53-37, and Pueblo West 87-64 in the playoffs during one of the more dominant postseason runs in recent memory.
Valor certainly had motivation after losing to Broomfield 67-46 in last year’s state semis, and losing the Jeffco crown to D’Evelyn as the Jags won twice, once when Bryan was out with injury and once when Valor had to forfeit due to scheduling too many games. Plus, Valor earned a No. 2 seed in the state tournament after they felt a No. 1 was deserved.
“When we figured out we were a two seed, I think coach was pretty upset,” Bradbury said. “She wanted to be a one seed. We just had that mindset that we wanted to destroy teams. We played our best team basketball when we needed to and it was so nice when we got Caroline back.”
Valor proved its worth when it counted.
“It’s just joy,” Caldwell, in her first season as the Valor coach after spending several years as a college assistant, said. “We just wanted to enjoy every moment. I believe our girls did that.”
Heidi Hammond chipped in 16 points for Valor in the state finals. Madison McCoy had 13. Both players are juniors.
Liah Davis finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds for Sand Creek. Moriah Ceballes scored 10.
