By Dan Karpiel

The Surveyor

At first glance, it would appear that the schedule makers did not do the Berthoud High School (BHS) girls basketball team any favors by scheduling six-straight road games right in the middle of the team’s Tri-Valley Conference (TVC) schedule.

Or did they?

In two weeks and 366 miles covered round trip, the Lady Spartans say, emphatically that the time away from their home hardwood will be of tremendous benefit in the final weeks of the season and into the state playoffs. In their three most recent games, Berthoud picked up a 70-20 win over Skyline last Thursday, dispatched Mead by a 71-34 final Saturday and Tuesday evening defeated Frederick 73-49.

“It is a challenge to play that many games in a row on the road, it’s a disruption to a routine but our girls have handled it very well,” Berthoud Head Coach Alan Gibson said after Tuesday’s win in Frederick. In that game, the Lady Spartans did face some early adversity, trailing throughout the opening quarter before finding their groove and pulling away.

Frederick held a 15-14 lead after the opening eight minutes of play before Berthoud assembled a 14-1 scoring run to take a 28-16 lead with just over 2:00 left in the second quarter, with their defense leading the way in creating opportunities on the other end of the floor. Senior Emily Cavey poured in seven points during the scoring run as Berthoud took command of the game.

“I’m really proud of the way they responded by not panicking, by not flying off the handle, without worrying, realizing there’s plenty of game left and just keeping the defense going,” Gibson said. “If you keep your defense going eventually the offense is going to come and it took us until the second half for that to happen tonight.”

Frederick responded to the scoring run, holding Berthoud without a bucket for the final two minutes of the first half to trail by only seven, 28-21, at the break. In the second half, Berthoud kept their hosts at arm’s length, slowly and steadily building a lead. They would go on to score 45 points in the second half to take the game by a comfortable 24 points.

“Being on the road has really tested our composure and when we get into the playoffs we’re going to be in those situations so I think it’s really good practice for later on, and we’ve really had to focus on our composure and staying calm and being patient,” senior Maddie Barcewski said after the game. “We’ve had a lot of different experiences and faced some difficulties on the road and I think we need to experience all those, I think it’s essential for our growth and I’m grateful for it but I’m also really excited for next Tuesday to play at home.”

Berthoud has six regular season games left, four of which will come at home, and two which feature teams in Erie and Holy Family who are ranked in the 4A top-10. Facing and overcoming the adversity of the long road will serve the team well but, as Gibson explained, the team will need to continue adding weapons to their arsenal.

Said Gibson, “We’re going to have to continue to be diverse, both defensively and offensively, you’re not going to be able to stay with one thing. The state is way too balanced, there’s too much talent and it’s too well-coached to just think you can stay stagnant so that’s the main thing we’re going to do is try to diversify.”

Berthoud (16-1, 9-1 TVC) is currently ranked No. 4 in 4A RPI and will play their sixth-straight road game Thursday when they travel out to Fort Morgan. The Lady Spartans return home Tuesday, Feb. 4, when they welcome rival Roosevelt to BHS.