AURORA | The A-Town All-Star girls basketball came went down to the wire Saturday afternoon at Eaglecrest High School and Team West held on for a 65-63 win over Team East at The Next.
In the contest that featured 20 of the top talents from around Aurora, Team West (coached by Vista PEAK Prep’s Howard Payne) surged during a pivotal time in the second half and went ahead late on consecutive layups by Overland junior Destiny Moore to get the best of Team East, which had a five-point lead at halftime.
Rangeview junior Jennesse Byrd knocked down three 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 13 points for Team West, which had one other double-digit in scorer in Cherokee Trail junior Damara Allen (10), while Moore finished close behind with eight, same as Rangeview junior Danielle Washington.
Grandview sophomore Sienna Betts — fresh off leading the Wolves to the Class 6A state championship — scored seven of her nine points in the opening portion of the second half to give Team East a double-digit lead at one point, while Eaglecrest senior Anjolene Ramiro finished with 10 points in her last game on her home court.
Cherokee Trail junior Alana Biosse matched Betts with nine points and Grandview senior Sydnie McClain added eight for Team East, which was coached by Smoky Hill’s staff.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com.Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2023 A-TOWN ALL-STARS GIRLS GAME
Team West 65, Team East 63
Score by halves:
Team West 31 34 — 65
Team East 36 27 — 63
TEAM WEST (65)
Coryn Watts (Regis Jesuit) 3 0-1 7, Damara Allen (Cherokee Trail) 5 0-0 10, Danielle Washington (Rangeview) 3 0-0 8, Delainey Miller (Cherokee Trail) 3 0-0 6, Destiny Moore (Overland) 4 0-0 8, Jennesse Byrd (Rangeview) 4 2-2 13, Aaliyah Taylor (Gateway) 0 1-2 1, Amirah Pena (Vista PEAK Prep) 0 2-2 2, Seilani Relford (Overland) 2 0-0 4, Mackenzie Griffin (Vista PEAK Prep) 3 0-0 6. Totals 27 5-7 65.
TEAM EAST (63)
Shaya Kelley (Aurora Central) 1 0-0 2, D’Ajha Horton (Rangeview) 1 0-0 3, Anjolene Ramiro (Eaglecrest) 3 2-2 10, Sydnie McClain (Grandview) 3 0-0 8, Sienna Betts (Grandview) 3 2-2 9, Madeline Gibbs (Cherokee Trail) 1 2-2 4, Alana Biosse (Cherokee Trail) 4 0-0 9, Jamaea Johnson-Gonzalez (Aurora Central) 1 0-0 2, Shyann Farbes (Eaglecrest) 2 0-0 4, Yamoni Perez (Smoky Hill) 5 0-0 12. Totals 24 6-6 63.
3-point field goals — Team West (6): Jennesse Byrd 3, Danielle Washington 2, Coryn Watts. Team East (9): Sydnie McClain 2, Yamoni Perez 2, Anjolene Ramiro 2, Sienna Betts, Alana Biosse, D’Ajha Horton