Columbine girls basketball grabs OT win over Ralston Valley

ARVADA — Coming into Columbine High School’s gym every morning paid dividends for senior Emily Allison on Wednesday night. 

Allison scored all of the Rebels’ five points in overtime, including going 3-for-4 from the free-throw line in Columbine’s 48-44 road victory against Ralston Valley.

“Emily has been such a leader for us,” Columbine coach Keegan Bell said after the huge Class 6A Jeffco League win. “She comes in every day before school and shoots at 7 a.m. For her being on that (free-throw) line at the end, she deserved that. I’m so proud of her for knocking those down.”

Ralston Valley (14-7, 6-3 in 6A Jeffco) held a 35-29 lead early in the fourth quarter, but a 9-0 run by the Rebels put Columbine up 38-35 with less than 3 minutes to play in the fourth quarter.

A 3-pointer by Ralston Valley freshman Santana Sabus cut Columbine’s lead to 40-39 with 1:25 left in regulation. In the final minute a pair of free throws by sophomore Sammi Madden and then by Sabus with 10.4 seconds left gave the Mustangs a 43-41 lead.

“Our team just fights. They have really grown up this year,” Bell said. “We’ve got some young bucks. Just game-by-game we’ve gotten better. What I really like is we never back down.”

Columbine sophomore Kortny Brock threaded a pass inside to fellow sophomore Mason Abraham in the final seconds. Abraham made the basket and was fouled, but she missed the free throw to send the game into overtime.

“Mason had a really big play to tie it up for us,” Allison said of the sophomore’s layup with a second left in the fourth quarter to tie it up 43-43. “We knew we would be able fight back in overtime.”

Sabus made a free throw for her 20th point of the game to open the scoring in overtime, but Allison would go on a 5-0 run by herself to give the Rebels the victory. Allison finished with a team-high 18 points.

Sophomore Taylor Speir had a big second half for the Rebels (14-8, 6-3) pouring in 10 points after halftime, including a pair of 3-pointers to finish with a dozen points.

“It is really big for our team going into playoffs to play a close game and pull out the win,” Allison said of the Rebels’ signature win in the final week of the regular season. “It’s good for us.”

Columbine wraps up its regular season at home against Arvada West at 6 p.m. Friday. The Rebels edged the Wildcats 51-49 last month in their first conference meeting.

“It is going to be a tough battle,” Bell said of facing the Wildcats on Friday. “They are a great team. We better have a quick recovery and be ready for them.”

The Rebels were No. 21 in the CHSAA Selection & Seeding Index before the win over Ralston Valley. While Columbine likely won’t host, the Rebels will get into the state tournament field and play Tuesday next week in the opening round.

“We’ve had some big wins. (Ralston Valley) is such a great team and what a great atmosphere,” Bell said of the packed gym with it being Senior Night and mini-poms night for Ralston Valley. “This was awesome.”

Ralston Valley finishes up its regular season on the road. The Mustangs play their 6A Jeffco League finale at Chatfield on Friday night, followed up the next day  with a trip to Colorado Springs to face Doherty. 

The 32-team 6A girls state tournament bracket is scheduled to be released by the Colorado High School Activities Association on Sunday. The Mustangs — No. 10 in the seeding index before games Wednesday — are pretty much a lock to host a first-round postseason game Tuesday, Feb. 20.