No. 9 Columbine girls hoops back on league track, defeats rival Chatfield

LITTLETON — On Friday night, Columbine’s girls basketball program grabbed its second victory over rival Chatfield for the last three weeks.

The Rebels — No. 9 in the Class 5A girls basketball CHSAANow.com rankings — defeated the Chargers 50-41 on Chatfield’s home court on Jan. 7. It was the same story Friday with Columbine protecting its home court with a 56-39 win over Chatfield in what was a 5A Jeffco League game this time around.

“This is my fifth year playing (Chatfield) and I don’t know if there has ever been a pretty game,” Columbine coach Greg Bolding Jr. admitted. “We will take it. Chatfield had its leading scorer out, but they came out ready to play.”

Chatfield senior Grace Talbot was out for the second straight game.

“Grace will be back next week. We are excited to have her back next week,” Chatfield coach Kincaid Bimler said. “We are super proud of how are girls fought this week. We tried to get a positive experience for us out of it.”

Chatfield suffered a 68-43 home loss to No. 1-ranked Valor Christian on Wednesday.

While the Chargers (10-8, 1-2 in 5A Jeffco) got the first bucket with senior Talea Kuennen scoring in the opening minute, the Rebels (11-5, 1-1) answered with a 12-0 run over the next three and a half minutes.

Sophomore Emily Allison buried a 3-pointer to start the run for the Rebels. Allison finished the game with a game-high 18 points.

“Emily Allison had an incredible game,” Bimler said. “Credit to her. She is going to be great for a couple of more years here.”

Allison put an exclamation point on her night scoring 9 points in the fourth quarter.

“I think most teams come in and prepare for Elizabeth (Gentry) and Jessica (Bollwahn),” Bolding said. “This team has done a great job of taking turns and stepping up. If we need them to come in and score that is what they do.”

Gentry and Bollwahn combined for 18 points. Bollwahn had 21 points the first time against Chatfield. It was clear the Chargers weren’t going to let the senior light-up the scoreboard again.

“Teams will take her (Bollwahn) away so we have to have other options,” Allison said.

Junior Dakota Archuleta became another option, scoring a dozen points off the bench for Columbine to give the Rebels their first league win of the season. The Rebels lost to Valor Christian 78-34 on Jan. 21 in both teams’ league opener.

“It was important to put that behind us,” Allison said of the 44-point loss to Valor a week ago in the Rebels’ conference opener. “We needed to forget about it and just move onto the next (league) game.”

Valor (13-3, 3-0) and No. 8 Ralston Valley (11-4, 2-0) are the only two 5A Jeffco teams that haven’t dropped a conference game yet.

“I think these girls are ready for the challenge,” Bolding said as the Rebels face Pomona and Lakewood on the road next week. “The girls in this locker room have bought in. We are proud of them.”

Chatfield will try to end its 2-game losing streak on the road against Dakota Ridge on Wednesday night week.

“We are disappointed with the outcome, but happy with how our girls fought,” said Bimler said of his short-handed Chargers against Columbine.