2A girls basketball Final 4 roundup: Yuma vs. Paonia for the title
PUEBLO — With a victory slipping away, Logan Hixon came to the rescue for Yuma.
The senior made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 27.9 seconds, vaulting the Indians to a 55-50 win over Cedaredge in a Class 2A semifinal game Friday at Colorado State University-Pueblo’s Massari Arena.
“We’ve been in big game like this before, and we refuse to lose,” said Hixon, who had 13 points. “I think it came down to experience and we just finished it. My shots were not falling in this game, but I was able to make some big free throws. We shoot free throws over and over in practice and I just kept telling myself that this is just like practice.”
Yuma (25-1) advances to its four state championship game at 5:30 p.m. Saturday against Paonia. Yuma has lost three state championship games in a row to Akron (2013), Lutheran (2014) and Akron again last year. The Indians are aiming for their first state girls state basketball championship since 1997.
Cedaredge saw its record drop to 22-3 and will now play in the consolation bracket Saturday.
“Our girls have been here and done that,” Yuma coach Mike Neill said. “They have good experience, and they just had to clamp down on defense and they did. Thank goodness for that experience, I think that’s what got us over the edge right there. I’m so proud of this group. They had some adversity (Friday night) because of our season leadership, we were able to get the job done.”
Cedaredge actually held a 45-44 lead going into the fourth quarter, but the Bruins couldn’t knockout Yuma and the Indians took a 50-47 advantage.
The Bruins, however, regrouped and Hannah Gilmore nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key to tie the game at 50-all with 2:02 left.
After missed opportunities by both teams, Cody Robinson made an inside bucket with 43 ticks remaining.
On the ensuing possession, the Bruins came up empty and Kendall McHugh was called for an intentional foul on Hixon with 27.9 seconds showing. Hixon made one free throw and
Yuma up 53-50. When the Indians got the ball because of the intentional foul Hixon was three more times – the third of which put her on the line for a 1-and-1 attempt with 16.8 seconds left. She made two to essentially seal the game.
Once the final buzzer sounded, Neill was already thinking ahead for his plan against Paonia.
“One word, win,” he said. “That’s all there’s to it, and we’re going to do it.”
Paonia 54, Wray 37:
From the opening tip, Paonia took control and never and cruised to the Class 2A semifinal win Friday.
Paonia led 19-8 after the first quarter and Ashley Van Vleet was providing the fuel for the offensive surge.
The 5-foot-10 senior poured in 11 of her game-high 17 points to set the tone for the remained of the game.
“I’m just so proud of my team,” the 5-foot-10 Van Vleet said. “Our coaches are amazing and when they set up a game plan you stick to it because they spend countless hours on film and our coaches care so much about us winning. It means a lot to us as players to have coaches who put in so much work and help us get to the next level and win.”
Paonia (25-1) advances to play the winner between top-seeded Yuma and Cedaredge at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in the state title game. Paonia won its lone state girls basketball crown in 2010 when it beat Akron. The Eagles also played for a state crown in 2009, losing to Wray.
Wray dropped into the consolation bracket with a 19-6 record. Wray won girls state basketball titles in 2008 and 2009.
“Everybody thinks of us as a pressing team, which we do a lot, but we came in with a game plan to take their running game away,” veteran Paonia coach Scott Rienks said. “Our goal was to get back on defense as fast as we could and limit them to a half-court game and make them play a half-court game, which we didn’t think they were used to doing. I’m just really proud of the way the girls battled to get this big win.”
Paonia was leading 30-17 at half, but lost its momentum in the third when Wray started working to get it within 32-26 at the 5:10 mark. Paonia, however, regrouped to take a 38-28 lead with 2:04 remaining in the third.
“We never got in an offensive rhythm really, especially in the second half,” Yuma coach David Reed said. “We had good possessions and we just couldn’t get a good shot, and we missed a lot of shots that we normally make.”
Rienks also thought experience played a factor in his team’s victory.
“I think a lot of the difference in this game was that group of girls from Wray had not been to state, and our girls have been three straight years,” Rienks said. “We came out a little more relaxed and the moment wasn’t too big for us and we hit some big shots early.”
In addition to Van Vleet, Sophia Anderson also added 14 points for Paonia. Wray’s Hannah Lenz had 14 points and she was the only player on her squad in double-figures.
