AURORA | Under the massively improved lighting in its home gym, the Grandview girls basketball team looked ready for the spotlight Wednesday night.
The two-time defending state champion Wolves welcomed Valor Christian in a battle of Class 6A powers and put on an illuminating performance in a 65-52 victory.
Junior star center Sienna Betts scored a game-high 25 points to pace Grandview, but coach Josh Ulitzky’s team was strong all around in a big victory over the Eagles, a team the Wolves lost to by 37 points last season. Joining Betts in double figures for Grandview were junior Deija Roberson with 14 and freshman Ava Chang with 13.
“I wasn’t quite certain what to expect to be honest, I just know Valor is really good,” Ulitzky said. “I was pretty pleased with how we defended and shared the ball. We certainly have some things to work on, but it’s nice to be able to do that after getting a win for sure.”
That win was the third straight for the Wolves, who who worked their way to .500 for the first time all season at 6-6, which includes a 5-0 mark against Colorado teams. A 1-5 mark at loaded tournaments in Texas and Arizona put Grandview into a hole and barely inside the top 20 of the Colorado High School Activities Association’s 6A seeding index.
Against Valor Christian (7-3), the Wolves set the tone with a strong opening quarter.
Six different players scored in the quarter, which ended with a nine-point lead for Grandview when junior Paetyn Lewis knocked down a corner 3-pointer.
“We were in a good place defensively and we moved the ball around and kids took advantage of their opportunities in the first quarter,” Ulitzky said. “I was like ‘Ok, we’re right in this.’ Then, I started to think about how we could sustain it, continue to defend and take care of the ball. The kids did a pretty good job of that.”
An even better second quarter — which included eight points from the 6-foot-4 Betts and seven from Chang, including her second 3-pointer of the half — gave Grandview a 15-point cushion going into halftime despite 14 points from Valor Christian’s Quinn VanSickle.
The advantage got as high as 21 points in the third quarter on six straight points from Betts and two Roberson free throws.
The Eagles cut it down to 13 with a 8-0 run, but a Betts inside hoop stopped the run and Roberson’s layup pushed Grandview’s lead back to 13 in the fourth quarter when Valor Christian nearly got the deficit into single digits.
“I felt there were a couple of times where we held them off, not necessarily answered,” Ulitzky said. “Valor really got after us, which is good for us, but we kept it from snowballing.”
Grandview next takes the floor in a showdown at Centennial League and neighborhood rival Cherokee Trail at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 17. The Cougars defeated the Wolves for the first time ever last season.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
GRANDVIEW 65, VALOR CHRISTIAN 52
Score by quarters:
Valor Christian 10 14 12 16 — 52
Grandview 19 20 13 13 — 65
VALOR CHRISTIAN (52)
Peyton Jones 2 0-0 4, Emma Lytle 3 0-0 6, Camryn Gunter 1 0-0 3, Quinn VanSickle 6 4-4 19, Rylie Beers 6 4-6 18, Kate Fuessel 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 8-10 52.
GRANDVIEW (65)
Maya Smith 3 2-2 8, Lexi Yi 0 0-0 0, Ava Chang 5 1-2 13, Deija Roberson 5 4-5 14, Sienna Betts 11 3-4 25, Paetyn Lewis 1 0-0 3, Amya Narducci 1 0-0 2, Leiava Holliman 0 0-0 0, Aliya Zitek 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 10-13 65.
3-point field goals — Valor Christian (6): Quinn VanSickle 3, Rylie Beers 2, Camryn Gunter. Grandview (3): Ava Chang 2, Paetyn Lewis. Total fouls — Valor Christian 16, Grandview 12. Fouled out — None. Technical fouls — None.
