Ralston Valley girls basketball erases double-digit deficit in playoff win over Fountain-Fort Carson

ARVADA — Sophomore Sophia Sabus gave her older sister Saya a huge hug on the court as the buzzer sounded to end the second-round state playoff game Friday night.

“I wasn’t done with my sister,” Sophia said after she scored a game-high 23 points on 7 of 10 shooting from 3-point range.

Sophia will get at least one more game with her sister before Saya heads off to play for the Colorado School of Mines next school year.

No. 11-seeded Ralston Valley got everything it wanted from a big and physical No. 22 Fountain-Fort Carson in the Class 5A girls basketball playoff game. The Mustangs eventually took a 53-45 home victory.

Ralston Valley (15-7 record) will now hit the road to face No. 6 Cherry Creek (17-6) on Tuesday, March 1, in the Sweet 16 of the state tournament. The Bruins defeated Vista Peak 68-37 in another second-round match-up Friday night.

“If we underestimate what they do we might get blown out,” Saya said facing Cherry Creek on the Bruins’ home floor next week. “We need to bring it no matter what.”

Fountain-Fort Carson brought it in the opening half Friday night. The Trojans muscled their way to a 23-13 lead late in the second quarter. The Mitchell sisters — Aiyanna and Keira — towered over the Mustangs, scoring eight points each in the first half.

“I knew is was going to be,” Ralston Valley coach Jeff Gomer said of the close game against the Trojans. “The size factor was going to give us problems.”

The Mustangs went to a full-court man-to-man defense in the second half. That paid dividends with Fountain-Fort Carson not being able to get it down low to 6-foot-4 junior Aiyana or 6-foot-3 sophomore Keira as easily. The sisters combined for 10 points after halftime.

Offensively, Ralston Valley got hot from 3-point range. Namely Sophia and junior Finley Timon gave the Mustangs the spark to turn the game around. Ralston Valley outscored Fountain-Fort Carson 19-9 in the third quarter to take a 36-34 leading going in to the fourth.

“It just came from the energy we had in the locker room at halftime,” Sophia said about her five 3-pointers in the second half. “We all got together and said we weren’t going to stop until the game ends.”

Sophia and Timon combined to go 10-for-14 (71 percent) from 3-point range on the night. Timon finished with a dozen points and Sophia was just three points behind her season-high of 26 points this season.

“They came up big,” Gomer said of Sophia and Timon. “The last thing I told them at halftime was we had to knock down shots. Those were the two we needed to step up. We weren’t going to get anything inside against them.”

Saya finished with 11 points for Ralston Valley. She was 5-for-7 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to help seal the victory.

“The nerves needed to be turned into something positive,” Saya said when asked if she was nervous when Fountain-Fort Carson held a 10-point lead late in the second quarter. “In that third quarter I really think we brought it to them. We are a good free-throw shooting team so that sealed it in the fourth.”

It was the third straight win for Ralston Valley after finishing behind No. 1 Valor Christian in the 5A Jeffco standings. Valor, Ralston Valley and Columbine all advanced to Tuesday’s Sweet 16 games with wins Friday.

“We played hard,” Gomer said. “We played really well in the second half. I was really pleased with the effort.”

Cherry Creek might not have the experienced talent as it has had in the past. The Bruins’ top three scorers are actually all freshmen.

“They are young, but they are talented,” Gomer said of the Bruins. “They have beat some good teams. We’ll go watch film tonight and film tomorrow before practice. If we shoot like we did in the second half tonight we’ll have a chance.”