DENVER | The Class 5A girls state basketball semifinal between No. 8 Fossil Ridge and No. 4 Grandview, scheduled for 7 p.m. March 8 at the Denver Coliseum, at a glance:
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NO. 8 FOSSIL RIDGE (20-5) VS. NO. 4 GRANDVIEW (23-3)
7 p.m., March 8 at Denver Coliseum
BREAKDOWN: Grandview and Fossil Ridge square off in the Final Four round of the Class 5A state playoffs for the second time in the past five years, with the SaberCats having won the first meeting by a 65-54 count back in the 2013-14 season when the semifinals were played at the Coors Events Center in Boulder. Since then, the teams have played non-league contests in each of the past two regular seasons, with the Wolves winning both of those (73-42 in 2016-17 and 57-52 this season).
FOSSIL RIDGE (20-5): With the No. 8 seed, coach Chad Salz’s SaberCats are the highest-seeded team remaining in the semifinals. Fossil Ridge finished the regular season 17-5 and were the third-place team from the Front Range League behind Horizon and Fairview. After a first-round bye, the Sabercats knocked off No. 40 Rangeview (75-47), No. 9 Mountain Vista (50-39) and finally No. 1 Fruita Monument (58-52), with the last victory winning them the Bobbi Brown-Vandeberg Region and putting them in the Final Four for the first time since 2013-14, when they lost to Regis Jesuit in the state title game…In the playoffs, Fossil Ridge has been led statistically by rangy junior PG Ashley Steffeck, who has cracked double figures in all three games and averaged 18 points per contest. Senior G Katey Guzman (15 points), sophomore F Sophia Hadad (12) and senior Reilly Dunn (10) all scored in double figures in the win over Fruita Monument. Dunn was the leading scorer when Fossil Ridge played Grandview earlier with 13 points, while Steffeck had a difficult shooting night and finished with 10. For the season, Steffeck and Guzman both average in double figures with Steffeck at 12.7 points per contest and Guzman right around 10. Steffeck also leads the team in rebounds, assists and steals.
GRANDVIEW (23-3): Coach Josh Ulitzky’s defending 5A state champion Wolves have the No. 4 seed in the state tournament, despite a regular season in which they lost just once to a Colorado team (by two to fellow semifinalist and sixth-seeded Regis Jesuit). Grandview finished the regular season 20-3 and continued its reign as Centennial League champions with a 14-0 lead mark. The Wolves had a first round bye in the postseason, then defeated No. 29 Denver South (89-44), No. 20 Columbine (75-36) and No. 5 Highlands Ranch (57-56), with the latter victory securing the Alice Barron Region title and put them in the semifinals for the third straight season and fifth time in the past six. Junior F/C Alisha Davis made a tie-breaking free throw with 9.6 seconds left and the Wolves forced a poor final shot from the Falcons in the Great 8 win…Senior F Leilah Vigil has led Grandview in scoring in all three postseason contests and averaged 21 points per contest, including a 26-point effort against Denver South. Five other Wolves have had double-digit scoring games in senior G Jaiden Galloway, juniors G/F Allyah Marlett and Davis, sophomore G Tomia Johnson and freshman C Addison O’Grady. Vigil, Galloway and Marlett scored 10 points apiece in Grandview’s earlier win over Fossil Ridge. For the season, Vigil (a University of Missouri-Kansas City signee) has averaged nearly 16 points per game, while Davis is a shade over 11 and Marlett is just shy of 10 per contest. Davis is the team’s leading rebounder (8.5 rpg) and shot blocker (3.0 bpg), while Galloway averages nearly a handful of assists per contest to lead the way and her 3.0 steals per game also paces Grandview.
WINNER GETS: The Fossil Ridge-Grandview winner secures a spot in the Class 5A state championship game, which is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. March 10 at the Denver Coliseum, where it will face the winner of the other semifinal between No. 2 Lakewood and No. 6 Regis Jesuit. The Wolves lost to Regis Jesuit by two points, but didn’t play Lakewood, while the Sabercats lost to Lakewood.