By Dan Karpiel

The Surveyor

Now the fun begins.

The Berthoud High girls basketball team completed their 23-game regular season last Friday night at home with a 20-point win as they defeated Skyline by a 64-44 final score.

The win in the regular-season finale gave Berthoud a share of the Tri-Valley Conference (TVC) crown, their first conference title since the 2006-07 season. The Lady Spartans finished the regular season with a 21-2 record that included a 14-2 mark in TVC play and, perhaps most importantly, earned the No. 4 seed in the 4A state playoff bracket. That seed assures Berthoud will play on their home court through the great eight round of the postseason, after which the final four and state championships games will be played on a neutral court at the Denver Coliseum.

Winning the conference title and earning the favorable seed however, is only the first step for a team that has stated since the preseason the ultimate goal is a state championship. To achieve those ends, Berthoud Head Coach Alan Gibson explained that the team will do everything they can to keep on the same track, one that has seen Berthoud add weapons to their basketball arsenal, continue to develop on-court chemistry and further improve in all aspects of the game.

Said Gibson, “We’re going to keep things the same … we’re going to keep that continuity going, we’re going to keep working the way we have all year,” and noted that his team, in an effort to keep on the same schedule as the regular season, planned to play a scrimmage Tuesday afternoon before their second-round playoff game Friday, Feb. 28.

Berthoud got a terrific top-to-bottom effort in the win over Skyline, a game which Gibson said he was, “really pleased with everyone’s effort. I thought the focus, given that it was senior night, was really where it needed to be defensively and offensively.”

Skyline was able to take a lead very early in the game, getting up by a 4-2 score with 5:30 left on the first-quarter clock, but a layup from senior Celsey Selland knotted the score at four and on the next possession Emily Cavey drained a three-pointer to give Berthoud a 7-4 lead from which they would not look back. Berthoud built on their lead, allowing Skyline to score only two more points in the opening quarter and just nine after that before halftime.

Standout junior point guard Bre Fowler said after the game, “We just worked as a team, at the very beginning of the game we were a little sluggish, but we got through it.” Fowler finished the night leading the Lady Spartans with 15 points and seven assists.

Gibson offered praise for the way the Berthoud community has supported his team saying, “I thought tonight’s game, with the crowd and with the intensity, it was kind of like our first playoff game with the atmosphere and the intensity, it is a lot like what we will see next week.”

Prior to the game, the team took time to honor their five seniors – Cavey, Selland, Maddie Barcewski, Julianne Evans Dennison and McKayla Milan. Gibson said of the quintet, “We got to celebrate these girls, they have been a fantastic group of leaders, a fantastic group of young ladies that everyone can look up to, and they are going to leave the program with us holding onto their ankles.”

“Keep it the same, focus on teamwork, be committed to each other, and we should be just fine. Our teamwork is unbelievable, we will give up a good shot for a great shot, it’s so unselfish and that will get us far,” Fowler said will be the focus as the team prepares for the postseason. “We’ve just got to keep our heads in the game, stay focused and know that we’re a good basketball team.”

Berthoud will host Golden this Friday night with tipoff set for 7 p.m. Golden defeated The Classical Academy by a 43-37 final score in Golden Tuesday night in the opening round of the 4A state playoffs.