2010 Playoffs
Conifer Girls in Final Four
The Conifer girls' varsity advanced to the Final Four of the State Championship with 59-46 victory over Pueblo South last Saturday.

Now 24-1 and riding a 10-game winning streak, the Lobos face a Broomfield team that is 25-1 and has won 22 straight.  Like Conifer, Broomfield's victories have been by wide margins. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday (March 10) at the CU Event Center, Boulder. 

The other seminfinal features Mullen against Longmont in a 4 p.m. start. The winners will play for the State Championship on Friday at 6 p.m. at the CU Event Center.

The Lobos are led by Alison Gorrell, the league's top scorer with 25.5 average and Cara Walderman, who averages 12 per game.  No matter who scores for Conifer, it all starts with a tenacious defense that fills the passing lanes and contests every shot.

Broomfield counters with a balanced attack that feaures six scorers all averaging between 9.6 and 7.4 points per game.

The boys' varsity Final Four will be played on Thursday at CU.  Sierra and Lewis-Palmer play at 4 p.m., followed by Pueblo-East and Longmont at 5:30.  The winners will play for the State Championship on Saturday at 6 p.m. at the CU Event Center.

Great Eight for Conifer girls
The Sweet 16 in the rear-view mirror after last week’s 55-37 victory over Montrose, the Conifer girls’ varsity now cruises into Saturday’s 4A Great Eight matchup against Pueblo South.

Conifer (24-1) and South (17-6) square off at 4:30 p.m. at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden. The Lobos play a high-intensity style from start to finish and are led by guard Alison Gorrell, who brings a league-leading 25.5 points per game scoring average into the game.

In other Great Eight action – all at the Mines facility – Mullen takes on Mesa Ridge at 1 p.m.; Broomfield faces Pueblo East at 2:45 p.m.; Conifer-Pueblo South at 4:30; and Longmont plays Cheyenne Mountain at 6:15 p.m.

All seating is general admission. Tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for students in K-12. There is no fee to park at the School of Mines.
The winners travel a bit further north for the Final Four next week at the CU Events Center in Boulder.

Final Four play begins Wednesday with a pair of games at CU (times TBD), followed by the State Championship game at CU on Friday at 6 p.m.

On the boys’ side, 4A Great Eight action gets underway at the School of Mines on Friday. Sierra plays Thomas Jefferson at 4 p.m.; Sterling plays Lewis-Palmer at 5:30 p.m.; Longmont plays Pueblo Central at 7 p.m.; and Broomfield faces Pueblo East at 8:30 p.m. 

Winning teams advance to the Final Four at the CU Events Center on Thursday, March 11 (times TBD). The State Championship is scheduled for Saturday, March 13 at 6 p.m. the CU Events Center.

And then there was one…
After a week of playoff action, only the Conifer girls’ varsity remains alive. The Lobos won their opening game Friday night, defeating Glenwood, 62-38 and are back at it tonight when they host Montrose at 5 p.m.

Conifer’s boys’ team dropped a 67-53 decision to Cheyenne Mountain in its second round game last night at Sierra High School in Colorado Springs.

On the Evergreen side of town, both teams were eliminated last night. The girls fell to Longmont, 47-32, while the boys dropped a 73-66 decision to Northridge.

Earlier in the week, both of Clear Creek’s teams were eliminated. The boys were ousted after losing to Bennett, 51-29, and
Pinnacle, 65-51, while the girls lost to Bennett, 54-24.

TUESDAY'S RESULTS:
Boys' Varsity 4A
Wakefield lifts Conifer to playoff win

Jordan Wakefield drained two free throws with five seconds left to cap a wild finish and lift Conifer to a 58-56 opening-round playoff victory over Canon City last night on the Lobos’ court.

Coach Jeff DeBuhr’s Conifer squad, seeded sixth in its bracket, moves on to play third-seeded Cheyenne Mountain in second round action on Friday at 4 p.m. at the Pueblo Events Center.

Conifer’s work was not finished after Wakefield calmly delivered in the clutch. Canon City still had those five seconds left and got the ball into the hands of the smooth-shooting Max Javernick on the right wing.

The Tigers were going for the win, but as Javernick rose up for the three just seconds from the end, Conifer’s Stephen Theiss got up just a touch higher and got all ball in deflecting the shot as the buzzer sounded.

The Lobos had charged back from a 28-19 halftime deficit to build a 52-44 lead with two minutes left in the game. That’s when a technical foul called on a Conifer player for lifting his jersey – a violation of the “disrobing policy” – gave Canon City a last-gasp opening.

The Tigers seized the momentum to go on a 9-1 tear, tying the game after Javernick followed a jumper in the lane with a steal and a layup. Fouled on the layup, Javernick completed the traditional three-point play to pull Canon City even at 53-53 with 55 seconds left.

Seven seconds later, after Theiss hit a free throw, Kalvin Winter only saved the Lobos’ season. With a loose ball seemingly headed out of bounds under Conifer’s basket, Canon City’s players stopped moving. Winter never slowed down, hustling to slap the ball back into play – where Wakefield was waiting for an easy put-back and a 56-53 Conifer lead with 47 seconds left.

While it can’t be said for certain how the rest of the game might have played out, Winter’s hustle sent the Lobos up court with a three-point cushion instead of a 54-53 lead. And, the Lobos needed every point after Canon City converted three of four free throws to tie it at 56-56 with 5.9 seconds to play.

The miss on that fourth free throw spelled the end for the Tigers when their Jason McClellan went over Wakefield’s back attempting to grab the rebound. The foul sent Wakefield to the free throw line – and Wakefield sent Conifer on to the next round of the playoffs.

OVERTIME: Wakefield led Conifer with 15 points, while Connor Moore had 12 – all on threes – and Theiss had 11…Tigers were a tall order as they rolled out 6-10 Trever Ford, 6-7 Steven Trainor, 6-5 McLellan, and 6-4 Zach Solis…The 5-11 Theiss climbed the ladder to stuff the 6-7 Trainor underneath with 5.9 ticks left. Whistled for the foul, Theiss’s defense paid off when Trainor hit only one of two from the line.

Evergreen 67, Delta 54
The Cougars advanced to Friday's second round with the home victory.

Evergreen, seeded 5th in its bracket, heads to Colorado Springs to play fourth-seeded Northridge at Sierra High School at 5 p.m. on Friday.

Girls' Varsity 4A
Evergreen 60, Palisade 31
Evergreen raced to a 23-6 lead after the first quarter and was never challenged in notching the first-round playoff win.

The Cougars now play at Longmont (20-3) in a second-round game on Friday.