LAFAYETTE — There must be some sort of warp in the space time continuum. Two schools — Kent Denver and Peak to Peak — that have been stalwarts in the Class 3A Metro League for years have fallen off a bit in 2015-16.
But it’s the nature of the cyclical beast in high school sports and Pumas coach Dan Seidman gets it. Yes, maybe his team is still young and rebuilding, but that being said, his team had a chance to move to 2-0 in the league on Wednesday night at home against the Sun Devils.
For two and half quarter, his team did everything it needed to to stay in the game … then that whole young and inexperienced thing reared it’s ugly head. A 12-1 run in the third quarter turned a one possession game into a lopsided double digit affair and Kent Denver wen on to win 49-37.
“I thought we came out with a lot of energy in the first half and we were certainly focusing on Maya Love and I thought we played really good defense on her,” said Seidman, whose team falls to 2-10 overall and 1-1 in the Metro. “Third quarter we came out and we were flat. We just didn’t have the energy and the came out and made a run.
“They came out ready to play. You’ve got to play this game for four quarters.”
The Pumas, who opened league play with a big win over Bishop Machebeuf on Friday, had stayed within striking distance of Kent into the third quarter and a 5-0 by Rachel Thomas made it a 23-22 game.
But that’s as close as the Pumas would get. All night they struggled to get the ball up the court against the Sun Devils press and when they needed to hang on to the ball, they just couldn’t
Kent Denver (4-7, 2-0) leaned heavily on Love, who was playing her first game of the season, recovering from and ACL injury, and she finished with a game-high 20. She had six point in the 12-1 run.
“Our non-conference schedule was definitely tough and we had some hard losses, but that win over Machebeuf gave us confidence and even though we are young and rebuilding, we feel like we can still make a run in the league,” Seidman said. “Even though this is a setback, I’m proud of our team and I feel like we still have a chance to do well.”
A game marred by fouls seemed to drag on in the fourth quarter, but it kept things interesting on the scoreboard. The Pumas crept to within 41-33 early in the fourth, but could never make it a two possession game.
In addition to Love’s 20, Kent Denver also got a strong performance from Julia Doyle, who finished with 11 points.
Tessa Anderson lead all Pumas with 12 points, Thomas chipped in with 10 and Kenna Hazzard added nine for Peak to Peak in the losing effort.
Jon Yunt: yuntj@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/JonEYunt
Kent Denver 49, Peak to Peak 37
At Peak to Peak
KENT DENVER (4-7, 2-0)
Abby Rifkin 2 1-2 5, Monica Royal 0 1-3 1, Emma Botman 0 2-4 2, Maya Love 8 4-7 20, Geneva McElvaine 0 0-0 0, Elsa Wefes-Potter 0 0-0 0, Jazmine Terrazas 1 0-2 2, Nicole Frederick 0 1-2 1, Sophia Reynolds 1 0-0 3, Lacey Rifkin 1 0-4 2, Gabby Kinney 0 0-0 0, Julia Doyle 3 5-6 11, Allie Grow 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 14-30 49.
PEAK TO PEAK (2-10, 1-1)
Molly Higdon 1 0-0 2, Tamara Miller 0 0-0 0, Kenna Hazzard 3 2-3 9, Anjali Gill 0 0-2 0, Rachel Thomas 3 2-3 9, Ginger Reece 0 0-2 0, Robin Peterson 0 2-4 2, Jordyn Hall 1 0-0 2, Lindsay Hudson 0 0-1 0, Fiona Freeman-Grundei 0 0-0 0, Rachel Willette 0 0-0 0, Tessa Anderson 5 2-3 12. Totals 13 9-24 37.
Score by quarters:
Kent Denver
12
9
16
12
—
49
Peak to Peak
10
7
10
10
—
37
3-point field goals — Kent Denver (1): Reynolds; Peak to Peak (2): Hazzard, Thomas. Total fouls — Kent Denver 23; Peak to Peak 23. Fouled out — Kinney; Thomas.
