By Dan Karpiel
The Surveyor
The two-week layoff for Christmas break didn’t faze them.
The Berthoud High School (BHS) girls basketball team got back on the hardwood on Saturday to begin their 16-game Tri-Valley Conference (TVC) jaunt, picking up right where they left off. Berthoud more than doubled-up visiting Mead on Jan. 4, winning by a 66-31 final tally and Tuesday night followed up with a 70-19 beat-down of Frederick.
“It’s the first game back from a long break, you’re never quite sure how things are going to go and (Mead) is a good team that’s going to beat a lot of teams down the road,” Berthoud Head Coach Alan Gibson said Saturday.
The Lady Spartans built a lead early, jumping ahead 13-0 before Mead scored their first points at the 3:39 mark in the first period, thanks in large part to their ability to convert on second-chance scoring opportunities. Mead did their best to keep pace, cutting Berthoud’s lead to 17-9 in the opening minute of the second quarter, but Berthoud assembled a 9-0 run again thanks to second-chance points.
“We’d rather just not have to worry about second-chance shots of course but it was good that we were able to get some second chance rebounds and build on our lead,” Gibson said.
“I think a big thing was we worked a lot on rebounding this week and I think everyone now has a better understanding of getting the rebounds and going right back up,” said senior Celsey Selland, who recorded her third double-double of the season with 12 points and 15 boards.
Berthoud held a 41-19 lead by halftime and outscored their guests 19-4 in the third quarter. Three-pointers on three straight possession from senior superstar Emily Cavey to go with treys from Bre Fowler and Ally Padilla was more than enough to put the game away and institute the running clock mercy rule for final eight minutes of play.
Facing Frederick on Tuesday night, Berthoud began the game cold from the floor, making only six of 21 shot attempts in the opening quarter. Two three-pointers from Padilla and buckets from Selland and McKayla Milan in the post helped right the ship late in the period.
Even though their shooting was not on-point early on, the Lady Spartans’ stifling defense kept the game well within their control. “Coach always says ‘defense will do it for you’ we pick up our defense and our offense really seems to click after that and I think that’s what happened for us, helped us get better shots, get into the post, just get back in the swing of things,” Padilla said.
Berthoud allowed Frederick to make good on three shots from the floor in the first half and took a 28-7 lead in the locker room at halftime. In the second half the Lady Spartans were far more efficient, shooting 15 of 24 from the floor and got significant contributions from the bench.
Aiden Carr, Annalise Carr, Julianne Dennison and Carrie Kingston combined for 13 points and seven rebounds in the second half. Getting the contributions from the reserves pleased Gibson who said after the game, “They really cherish their moments on the varsity court, they always try to make the most of it and they really did that tonight.”
Berthoud (9-0, 2-0 TVC) holds the No. 5 rank in 4A RPI and will welcome Fort Morgan to the Rusty Mathena Gym at BHS on Thursday night, travel across the highway for a match-up with Roosevelt on Saturday, Jan. 11 and will then face their stiffest test of the season when undefeated Erie pays a visit to Berthoud on Jan. 14.
