No. 3 D’Evelyn girls hoops off to its usual running start

DENVER — The system of pressure defense and transition offense hasn’t changed since Chris Olson has been at the helm of D’Evelyn’s girls basketball program.

“We have been known for that forever,” D’Evelyn junior Peyton Marvel said of the Jaguars’ full-court pressure defense. “We always know what is right to do. It really feels good to start with that.”

What is beneficial for Olson this season is he has a host of returning players from the Jaguars’ Class 4A state quarterfinal squad from last year that had a 21-4 record.

“Obviously that a big part of it when you have a system,” Olson said after the Jaguars’ dominating 64-18 victory over Summit on Wednesday night. “Kids know what to do and where to go. The chemistry is even better. One year under their belts means a lot.”

D’Evelyn — No. 3 in the CHSAANow.com Class 4A rankings — belted Summit on the opening night of the Jeffco Jungle Jam tournament that is co-hosted by the Jaguars and Littleton. D’Evelyn (4-0 record) got steal-after-steal that led to layup-after-layup in the first quarter to build a comfortable 23-2 lead.

Marvel led the way with a 11 points in the first quarter. She finished with a game-high 19 points, single-handedly outscoring the Tigers (1-1).

Marvel — one of the top softball players in the state — might be one of the best all-around athletes in Jeffco. However, Olson wants to make her even more of a basketball player over the next two seasons.

“The first two years we just kind of turned her loose,” Olson said of Marvel, who averaged a double-double in points and rebounds her freshman and sophomore seasons. “This year we are challenging her a little more to be more of a basketball player and not just an athlete. We are going to make her a better basketball player. She is fun to watch.”

Senior Rebecca Taylor hit double-digit points for the Jaguars before halftime with 11 points. The Jaguars led 38-6 at the break. Taylor finished with 16 points.

Junior Macy Scheer had a 10-point third quarter as D’Evelyn opened up a 50-point lead — 62-12 — heading to the fourth quarter. Scheer finished with 16 points.

“This has been a good message to our league that we are serious and ready,” Olson said of the Jaguars’ strong start to the season. “We want to be in the mix.”

D’Evelyn opened up the season by winning the Mountain Vista/Rock Canyon Tournament last week. The Jaguars got victories over Class 6A programs Denver East, Rock Canyon and Chaparral.

The Jaguars will play in in the 5A/4A Jeffco League for the current 2-year cycle. The addition of 6A moved several teams up a classification, but with D’Evelyn’s enrollment numbers they stayed in 4A.

“We still have to play our hardest,” Marvel said of league that begins shortly after the Winter Break. “Teams are definitely going to be out to come for us since we just won a 6A tournament (Mountain Vista/Rock Canyon Tournament).”

D’Evelyn will continue its run in the Jeffco Jungle Jam by facing Heritage at 7 p.m. Friday back at D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School. The tournament wraps up with four games at co-host Littleton High School on Saturday. Games begin at 10 a.m.

“Every game we are trying to get better and play harder,” Olson said. “We want to be smarter than we did the last game. That is our motivation.”