Recapping the Class 6A girls and boys Great 8 games on Friday at the Denver Coliseum.
No. 5 Northfield 66, No. 13 Riverdale Ridge 59. The Nighthawks ended the prep career of a Colorado great to open Friday’s slate of games.
Riverdale Ridge blue-chip Brihanna Crittendon, CHSAA’s all-time leading scorer, didn’t come off the floor as she poured in 41 points on 11-of-17 from the field and 17-of-18 from the stripe. The Texas commit tacked on nine rebounds, three steals, a block and an assist.
But that gigantic effort wasn’t enough to offset Northfield’s balanced scoring. The Nighthawks got 21 points from Madison Bethel, 16 by London Taylor and 10 by Delaney Dennis as the junior trio propelled Northfield into the Final Four in just its second season in Class 6A.
Northfield, which lost the Class 5A championship to Roosevelt three years ago, avenged its first-round playoff defeat to Riverdale Ridge last season.
“We had to realize that (Crittendon’s) a great player, and we knew she was going to score, but we just had to try and limit her,” Madison Bethel said. “We did a decent job, but most importantly, we did what we needed to do on offense to come back and clap back at her points.
“On offense, we had to move the ball around, get (Crittendon) moving, get her a little tired and draw her out of the paint so we could get in there. That was the biggest piece for us to find the right open shots.”
Crittendon finishes her career with 3,073 points. Her next showcase will be at the McDonald’s All-American Game on March 31 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. Then, she’ll play for USA Basketball at the Nike Hoop Summit on April 11 at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, in a game featuring top American high school players against a U-19 World Team.
The 6-foot-3 combo guard/forward, who put Riverdale Ridge on the map with a Class 4A title as a sophomore before consecutive Coliseum appearances in 6A last year and this one, leaves for Austin in early June to begin her college career.
“We didn’t quit at all today and I’m proud of our girls. It’s not the way we expected to go out, but I’m very grateful for everything we’ve accomplished the last four years,” Crittendon said. “I definitely could’ve done more to get the win, but I’m proud of myself — I’m not going to hang my head too much. It’s time to move on to the next era of my life.”
No. 5 Rock Canyon 66, No. 13 Grandview 52. By the time Rock Canyon’s lead stretched to 15 points late in the fourth quarter, the Canyon Crazies let the Coliseum know how they were feeling.
Rock Canyon’s renowned student section, which showed out on force on Friday, ripped off three consecutive chants with the Jaguars’ win in the bag. First: “We want varsity!” Second: “Na na na na, hey hey hey, good-bye.” Third: “Warm the buses!”
Those chants capped a strong performance by Rock Canyon, which advanced to its third Final Four under 14th-year head coach Kent Grams. The game was close early, but Grandview never threatened in the second half. Senior Davis May (a Dordt University commit) paved the way with 20 points, while junior Avery Vasquez had 10 and the Jaguars’ defense consistently stifled Grandview.
Rock Canyon (23-3) has lost only one in-state game this season, a narrow 54-50 defeat to top-seeded Chaparral in Continental League play on Jan. 23. Beyond that, the Jaguars’ size, depth and athleticism have proven difficult to match, as the Wolves discovered on Friday.
“The hard thing about us is we’ve got multiple ways to beat you,” Grams said. “We’ve got a great post player with (6-foot-5) junior Jacob David, who didn’t have a great game because of foul trouble, and we can get the ball inside. But his teammates picked him up, because anybody else can step up at any given time, and that’s how it’s been all year.”
The Jaguars controlled the middle of the game, outscoring Grandview 36-21 in the second and third quarters, which ended up being the difference. At halftime, Grams implored his team to step on the gas, stop shooting 3s and penetrate the ball into the paint.
“We were allowing them to dictate the pace of the game (in the first half),” Grams said. “We like to push the pace, we try to multiply possessions. Our guards were walking the ball up the floor and allowing Grandview to set up their defense, so once we started pushing and getting the ball swung more and getting it to two or three sides (of the floor), I thought they would break down and we would get easier looks.”
It will be an all-Continental League showdown in the Final Four as Rock Canyon will face either Chaparral, who ended the Jaguars’ season in the Sweet 16 last year, or Mountain Vista. Rock Canyon beat Mountain Vista 79-75 on Feb. 6.
“If we can be who we are, and get stops, who knows what can happen,” Grams said.
6A Final Four matchups at Denver Coliseum
Girls (March 12)
No. 5 Northfield vs. No. 1 Cherokee Trail/No. 9 Legend
No. 2 Arapahoe/No. 7 Highlands Ranch vs. No. 3 Valor Christian/No. 6 Denver East
Boys (March 13)
No. 5 Rock Canyon vs. No. 1 Chaparral/No. 8 Mountain Vista
No. 2 Ralston Valley/No. 7 George Washington vs. No. 3 Rangeview/No. 6 Cherry Creek
Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.