Columbine girls clamp down defensively against Arvada West

LITTLETON — Columbine assistant girls basketball coach Kylie Bolding picked up her first win as the Rebels’ acting varsity coach Wednesday night.

“It felt great,” Bolding said after a 55-36 home victory against Arvada West in her varsity head coaching debut. “Greg and I have worked together a lot. It is a lot of pressure sometimes coming in and filling his shoes, but the girls did everything to a tee tonight. They really executed and made my job a lot easier on the sidelines.”

Greg Bolding Jr. — Columbine’s head coach who actually proposed to his assistant coach last season on the Rebels’ basketball court after a game — is currently in Portland, Ore. at a Nike directors conference until Friday. Kylie said her husband is scheduled to fly back to Colorado on Friday in time for the Rebels’ home game against rival Chatfield.

“He might be back Friday, otherwise I’ll be looking for my second win against Chatfield,” Kylie said. “Hopefully there is no (flight) delays. Whatever happens, we’ll have the same energy Friday night.”

Columbine (7-10, 2-2 in Class 6A Jeffco League) was desperate for a conference victory after back-to-back losses to Valor Christian and Chatfield last week. The Rebels had lost five of their previous six games.

“It was a really good win to get our momentum back,” Columbine junior Emily Allison said. “It was good to see us able to score and do what we know we can do.”

Allison led all scorers with 19 points, but the Rebels’ leading scorer had plenty of help. Seniors Dakota Archuleta (13 points) and Araya Ogden (12 points) also finished in double-digit points.

Columbine jumped out to a commanding 20-4 lead early in the second quarter and limited A-West (12-4, 1-3) to just 11 points in the first half.

“We talked about how it would all come down to discipline tonight,” Kylie said. “Being in the help side and filling those gaps. Knowing where (Brooke Meeks) is at all times. She is a great shooter. I’m proud of them listening to the game plan and executing. We really took it to the in the first quarter.”

A-West senior Brooke Meeks hit a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter for the only two field goals the Wildcats made in the second quarter.

Senior Ellie Pugliese finished with 8 points to lead A-West. The Wildcats had a good third quarter defensively holding Columbine to just 3 points. The Rebels took a 29-21 lead going into the final quarter.

Allison, Archuleta and Ogden took over in the fourth quarter. The three combined for 24 of 26 points Columbine scored in the fourth quarter to win going away.

“Finishing is something we’ve struggled with all season,” Kylie said. “It is something we’ve been working on day-in and day-out. It felt good to finish.”

The Rebels were clearly happy to play well for their acting coach.

“It was good to see us play well and get a win for Kylie,” Allison said.

Columbine hosts rival Chatfield as a part of the girls/boys varsity doubleheader that starts at 5:30 p.m. Friday night.

“The Chatfield game is always important to us. Last week’s Chatfield game is one we could have had too,” Kylie said. “This has to be a confidence builder going into Friday.”

A-West will try to turn around its fortunes when it faces Lakewood on the road Friday. The Wildcats got out to an impressive 11-1 record to start the season, but have dropped conference games to Ralston Valley, Chatfield and A-West.