Olathe finish 4th at Palisade districts

PALISADE — After Basalt upset the Western Slope League champion Lady Pirates in Friday’s game, the Olathe girls basketball team faced off against the Coal Ridge Titans Saturday afternoon to determine third and fourth places in the district tournament at Palisade High School.

The top five finishers from the 3A tournament move on to the regional level containing 32 teams competing for a state championship. Seeding will be published by the Colorado High School Activities Association this afternoon.

Although the Lady Pirates will be among the teams continuing, it was disappointing to finish the tournament in fourth place after dropping games to Basalt on Friday and to Coal Ridge 39-37 on Saturday afternoon.

In a game which was filled with aggressive, if not always aesthetic basketball, the Pirates suffered from a combination of stretches of cold shooting, especially to open the first and fourth quarters, and foul troubles which resulted in Coal Ridge scoring on seven of 13 attempts from the free throw line in the second quarter and nine of 12 chances in the final period.

Coach Paul Althaus, with nothing happening on offense and the Pirates’ normally solid defense not controlling things, stopped play with a timeout some three minutes into the game. Following the conference at the bench, the Pirate defense seemed to find its normal dominance, and Olathe finished the opening quarter ahead 8-4.

The Pirates then extended their lead to six, but Coal Ridge began to take advantage of free throw opportunities, particularly junior Tori Verdieck, who drained five of six attempts in the second period to keep the league champions in sight with a five-point half time lead, 20-15.

The momentum shift toward the Titans proved steady and continuous in the second half. Sophomore standout Emily Brummitt picked up a fourth foul late in the third period, forcing Althaus to go to his bench, keeping Brummitt off the court through the first minutes of the final period.

Coal Ridge took full advantage, going on a nine-point run in the fourth quarter before freshman Kylie Tait finally ended the scoring shutout with a bucket with only 2:35 remaining in the game. Tait, one of the few bright spots for Olathe in the fourth quarter followed quickly with a three to keep Pirate hopes alive.

Morgan Stansberry, fouled on a scoring drive, converted her bonus free throw to bring the Lady Pirates within two (35-37) with less than a minute to play.

Forced to foul, Olathe sent Coal Ridge’s Kellyann Romero, one of five senior starters for the Titans, to the line where she added two points to extend the lead to four with less than ten seconds on the scoreboard clock.

Freshman Tawni Middleton’s drive for two at three seconds brought the Pirates to within two as time expired.

Emily Brummitt, who was held scoreless in the final period in which she eventually fouled out, nevertheless led the Pirates with 11 points.