1A Girls Basketball: McClave Wins Second-Straight State Championship
By Brock Laue
Photo: Brakelle Westphal
GREELEY – The proud community of McClave will always remember these girls.
A town with a rich basketball culture saw its girls team win its second-consecutive Class 1A state championship on Saturday at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley with a 43-40 victory over Flagler.
“Last school year our girls won state championships in volleyball, basketball, and track,” coach Brianne Howe said. “We had a goal of going back-to-back in basketball state championships. I’m just so proud of them for achieving that goal.”
The Cardinals cruised 47-33 over Idalia in last year’s title game. But the Panthers were quite pesky on Saturday as they never let McClave build a huge lead.
Star sophomore Rylie Berry kept hitting shots for Flagler and the 2025 1A Player of the Year, Abrielle Gomez of McClave, picked up her second foul with 3:32 left in the first quarter. The game was tied at eight after one quarter.
“We really put an emphasis on defense,” Howe said. “That way if we struggle offensively, we always have a strong defense to rely on.”
A two-pointer for Gomez to start the second quarter helped the Cardinals come alive. After all, the senior is too good to stay quiet for long.
McClave took a 28-18 lead into halftime after racking up 20 points in the second quarter.
Gomez, Addison Vallejos, Zoe Martinez, and Ashlynn Steinbrunn, who all nabbed All-State honors (First Team, Second Team or Honorable Mention) last season, contributed on offense and defense. Their other starter, Avery Hemphill, is quite an athlete herself after being named First Team All-State in volleyball.
“Basically our starting unit for basketball was also our starting unit for volleyball,” Howe said.
Nonetheless, Flagler was gritty in the state final. A Cinderella team as the No. 14 seed, it beat Springfield by six in the Final Four and Briggsdale by five in the Great 8 just to make the championship game. They weren’t going to quit.
A Berry basket capped an 8-0 run and pulled Flagler within 32-28 late in the third quarter. The Cardinals kept them at bay, though, with the lead hovering around five to six points down the stretch.
With only 1:37 left in the game, another Berry rebound and basket brought Flagler within 42-39.
On top of that, McClave was missing some critical free throws.
But Martinez went 1 for 2 with 40 seconds left to push the lead to 43-39.
McClave held on.
The Cardinals, who finished 26-2 after defeating Fleming 49-33 in the Final Four and Cheraw 50-34 in the Great 8, didn’t play a perfect game. Nonetheless, the state championship is just as sweet as last year.
“We didn’t play the best, but who cares? We just won,” Gomez said.
Gomez led McClave with 15 points and eight rebounds. Vallejos scored 10 points and was a defensive dynamo with six steals. Steinbrunn chipped in eight points and seven rebounds.
For the state runner-up team, Rylie Berry finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds and Sydnie Berry tallied seven points.
On Saturday, McClave reached the mountaintop again in earning their sixth girls basketball state championship. That ties the program for the sixth-most in Colorado history.
“My dad was actually the coach several years ago and he won four state championships,” Howe said. “His girls won three in a row (2004-06) and they actually hold the state record of 78 wins in a row. It’s hard to beat that, but I would put these girls up against anybody.”
It’s hard not to, especially when you consider they also won state in volleyball in 2024 before finishing as the runner-up in 2025. They tied for the 1A girls track and field championship with Idalia last spring as three of their starting basketball players (Steinbrunn, Gomez, Vallejos) ran on the winning 4×100-meter and 4×200-meter relays.
On top of all that, the seniors (Gomez, Steinbrunn, Martinez) finished as the state runner-up in basketball as freshmen.
“We’re a fast team,” said Gomez, who signed with Lamar Community College for volleyball and basketball. “We’re a short team, so we have to work our tails off. Being able to have quick feet on defense and being able to score on offense, it’s great.”
Steinbrunn will also be taking her talents to college as she signed to play volleyball at Morningside (Iowa).
For a school with about 100 students in Southeastern Colorado, seven team state championships (boys basketball also won Saturday) since 2022 has been quite a run of excellence.
“We start young,” Gomez said of basketball players in McClave. “Our little rec league, they’re starting in kindergarten.”
The Cardinals will seek a third consecutive title in girls hoops next season.
Saturday, March 14 at University of Northern Colorado in Greeley
Saturday, March 14 at University of Northern Colorado in Greeley
