Standley Lake girls basketball chomp down on another trip to 5A Great 8

WESTMINSTER — Standley Lake’s defense allowed the Gators to dance into the Great 8 of the Class 5A girls basketball state tournament held at the Denver Coliseum this coming weekend.

No. 5-seeded Standley Lake used its smothering defense to grab a 55-35 victory over No. 12 Frederick on Wednesday night at Standley Lake High School. It was the 14th time this season the Gators (21-4 record) has held its opponent under 40 points. 

“We always say defense travels,” Standley Lake freshman Jojo Martin said. “Our defense gets us to win games. As long as we bring our effort we can play anyone.”

Standley Lake will play No. 4 Windsor in the 5A state quarterfinals Saturday, March 7, at the Coliseum. The Wizards grabbed a 56-36 victory over Golden on Wednesday night to prevent an all-Jeffco match-up in the quarterfinals.

“It feels amazing. I’ve been thinking about this for many, many years,” Martin said of heading to the Coliseum. “I saw my sister do it as a freshman. The experience is just surreal.”

It’s will be the second trip to the Great 8 over the last three seasons for the Gators. As the No. 11 seed, Standley Lake made it to the quarterfinals in 2024 led by Taylin Serlen. The senior averaged 20 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. 

Also on that 2024 squad was a freshman — Sydney Martin — who averaged 9.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game two seasons ago. Sydney had knee surgery late last Spring and hasn’t played this season for the Gators. It appears the junior won’t be able to get back on the court for Standley Lake’s playoff run.

“I’m so excited for my sister to come back,” Martin said of Sydney’s returning likely next season. “It’s going to be so fun.”

Standley Lake will still be having fun this weekend in an attempt to get in position to win the school’s first girls basketball state title. However, advancing this far without its leading scorer and rebounder from last season in Sydney Martin, along with starting three freshmen … first-year coach Enoch Miller is treating the deep playoff run as a bonus.

“My staff and I were like, ‘We are playing with house money from here on out,’” Coach Miller said of the Gators making it to the Great 8. “We needed to get down there to experience it. We needed to get by this game. I haven’t slept a lot the last few nights.”

Coach Miller’s daughter — freshman Chloe Miller — was able to calm the nerves early scoring 15 points in the first half to give the Gators a 28-13 lead over Frederick (15-10) at halftime.

Chloe Miller finished with a game-high 20 points, including three 3-pointers. Standley Lake only made seven field goals in the second half, but went 12-for-17 from the free-throw line after halftime to hold off the Golden Eagles from making any kind of threat of gaining momentum.

“We just have to play our game,” Chloe Miller said of the Gators struggling at times with their shooting Wednesday night. “We just have to have the right mindset. That is what wins games, the right mindset.”

It was the second go-around between Frederick and Standley Lake this season. The Gators took a 56-30 road victory over the Golden Eagles before Winter Break.

“I was nervous. Frederick is a great program that has been down to the Coliseum the last two years,” Coach Miller said of facing the Golden Eagles again. “I knew they would be tough. They have a good system and Jake (Frederick coach Jake Hansen) does a good job. It wasn’t going to be easy.”

Fredrick junior May Torres poured in 19 points for the Golden Eagles in season-ending loss.

Jojo Martin (12 points), senior Aaliyah Valenzuela (11 points) and freshman Ireland Kassatly (9 points) gave Standley Lake some scoring support behind the big night from Chloe Miller.

“Sometimes our outside shots aren’t going to fall,” Chloe Miller admitted. “We have to rely on our driving into the paint and getting to the free-throw line.”

Standley Lake will be able to rely on some recent success and experience coaching down at the Denver Coliseum. Coach Miller guided Roosevelt to back-to-back 5A girls basketball state titles in 2023 and 2024. 

The Gators’ style of play should play well down at the Coliseum that is historically known to give fits to teams that rely on outside shooting. 

“Our up-and-down style is going to help us,” Coach Miller said. “It is better when we are making 3s, but it isn’t a prerequisite to winning. We can compete with our defense.”

League rival Green Mountain — back-to-back 5A/4A/3A Jeffco League champion — was successful in joining Standley Lake to give Jeffco a pair of team in the 5A Great 8. The Rams dominated Northridge to the tune of 62-30 Wednesday night at Green Mountain High School.