Green Mountain girls hoops plugged in during early league play

LITTLETON — Green Mountain girls basketball team ran its winning streak to a baker’s dozen Wednesday night at Dakota Ridge High School.

The Rams (14-2, 2-0 in Class 5A/4A/3A Jeffco League) captured their 13th straight victory cruising to a 56-14 road victory against Dakota Ridge (5-8, 0-1). Green Mountain jumped out to a commanding 40-11 lead at halftime pouring in seven 3-pointers in the opening half.

“It is a blessing that we have a lot of shooters on the floor,” Green Mountain coach Matteo Busnardo said after four different players combined for the seven 3-pointers in the first half for the Rams. “We talk about it a lot, anybody on our team can have a night. We’ve talked about it coming into league about shooting the ball well.”

Junior Kantyn Pearson led all scorers with 14 points, equaling Dakota Ridge’s team total on the night. Sophomore Ella Cockrum poured in 13 points as 10 different Rams got into the box score as Busnardo was able to empty the bench in the second half.

“In practice we have really been practicing our 3s,” said Cockrum, who led the Rams with a trio of 3-pointers in the opening half. “It is good when we are making 3s like that, but we also want to focus on inside shots too.”

Sophomore Grace Herrig had a nice game with four made field goals inside the paint as she had 9 points on the night.

“These league games are all huge,” Busnardo said as the Rams sit alone atop the conference standings at 2-0. “Everyone wants to beat us. Everyone is going to play us tough. To get a win, I’m happy no matter what.”

Busnardo admitted he was a little nervous with it not being a normal school day at Green Mountain. A power outage at the school eventually led to an early dismissal of all students around 10 a.m. 

It was similar to last year when the Rams faced Dakota Ridge after Jeffco Public Schools had a snow day. The Eagles pulled off a 46-41 upset over Green Mountain to pretty much end the Rams’ hopes for a league title.

“I was a little worried about it,” Busnardo said. “I was a little worried about being out of our routine, but I thought we came out ready to play. Our energy was good.”

Green Mountain will put its long winning streak on the line Friday night at home against Standley Lake (13-2, 1-0). The Gators cruised to a 51-12 victory Wednesday night against Wheat Ridge.

“We are ready for that game,” Cockrum said of the playoff rematch against Standley Lake that is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff at Green Mountain High School.

After the Rams defeated the Gators twice during the regular season last year, Standley Lake took a 32-27 playoff victory on Green Mountain’s home court to end the Rams’ season.

“It’s a big one. We’ve created a little rivalry with them (Standley Lake) over the last couple of years,” Busnardo said of Friday’s home game against the Gators. “They do a great job and have a solid team. Their starting five is very strong.”

Dakota Ridge will head up the hill to face Conifer on Friday night as the Eagles continue conference play.