AURORA | The Grandview and Ralston Valley girls basketball teams could very well meet in the last game of the 2016-17 season, but they got a good look at each other in the first one.
Friday night’s heavyweight matchup between the top-ranked Wolves and second-round Mustangs — both veteran-laden teams that made it to the semifinals of last season’s Class 5A state playoffs — showed glimpses of the greatness of both sides, with the rough edges of a season opener.
Coach Josh Ulitzky’s Grandview team led from start to finish and got up by as many as 20 points in the third quarter before closing out a 62-52 victory to kick off a 2016-17 campaign filled with high expectations.
Senior Michaela Onyenwere poured in 23 points and junior Leilah Vigil and sophomore Alisha Davis added eight points apiece for the Wolves, while senior Kennede Brown had five of her seven points in the final period.
Grandview raced out to an 11-0 lead, but Ashley Van Sickle and Ralston Valley kept battling back and cut the margin to six points at halftime.
The Wolves used a 12-0 run in the third quarter to boost their lead to a game-high 20 points on a Davis layup midway through the period, only to see Van Sickle and Chloe Gillach chop that lead in half by the end of the quarter.
A steal and coast-to-coast layup by Onyenwere to open the fourth quarter gave Grandview a boost and the lead remained at least nine points until the final horn.
Vigil — a transfer from Highlands Ranch, which beat Ralston Valley in last season’s semifinals — saw very limited minutes due to foul trouble, but went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to help seal the result, while Brown helped the Wolves keep possession and work precious time off the clock.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
GRANDVIEW 62, RALSTON VALLEY 52
Score by quarters:
Ralston Valley 11 13 14 14 — 52
Grandview 18 12 18 14 — 62
Grandview points: Michaela Onyenwere 23, Alisha Davis 8, Leilah Vigil 8, Kennede Brown 7, Lenzi Hudson 6, Jaiden Galloway 4, Allyah Marlett 3, Sariah Serrano 3
