A-West and D’Evelyn girls basketball teams open with wins at Jungle Jam

DENVER — It’s going to be a nice all-Jeffco semifinal at the Jungle Jam Tournament.

D’Evelyn (Class 5A/4A Jeffco) and Arvada West (Class 6A Jeffco) will square off in a semifinal of the girls basketball annual tournament at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8, at D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School.

“It will be a good match-up,” D’Evelyn coach Chris Olson said of facing A-West on Friday. “We played in the tournament championship game last year. It was a really good game. We want to be tested and keep that iron in the fire. Keep getting better.”

The co-host Jaguars (3-1 record) took care of business with a 58-30 win over Summit (0-2) in the first quarterfinal Wednesday night at D’Evelyn. A-West (3-0) dominated Heritage 59-23 in the nightcap.

“We are going to have our hands full on Friday,” A-West coach Brady Meeks said. “That will be our first real test. We better bring it for all 32 minutes.”

The Jaguars had a fourth-quarter rally to take a 54-49 victory over the Wildcats last year in the tournament title game. D’Evelyn had a 27-1 record last year with its lone loss in the 4A state title game against Holy Family.

“I’m excited for the challenge,” A-West junior guard Saylor Swanson said.

The annual Jungle Jam Tournament co-hosted by D’Evelyn and Littleton features A-West, Summit, Heritage, Longmont, Northfield, Sand Creek, along with the host Jaguars and Lions this year.

Littleton and Northfield will face off in the other semifinal at Littleton High School on Friday with the winner advancing to the title game against the winner of A-West/D’Evelyn on Saturday at D’Evelyn.

“It is really good to face A-West early in the year,” D’Evelyn senior Peyton Marvel said. “We know they can shoot and they are fast. It is a great game before we get into league play and deeper in our season.”

D’Evelyn 58, Summit 30

D’Evelyn seniors Peyton Marvel (21 points) and Macy Scheer (16 points) paced the Jaguars in the victory over the Tigers (0-2).

The Jaguars had an 8-0 run to end the first half to extend their lead to 36-19 at halftime. Marvel and Scheer combined for 24 points in the first half.

Olson admitted he is still working on getting his rotation set with some of his multiple-sport athletes just getting back on the hardwood.

“It is just kind of that balance. We are replacing two really good players and trying to figure out who will get those minutes,” Olson said. “It is just part of how it goes. We have some familiar faces, but we’ve got some new people too.”

Junior Ellie McMann is the third returning starter for the last year’s 4A state runner-up, but she is coming off a knee injury suffered this summer.

Seniors Megan Schonberger and Ingrid Dalla will be key in keeping the Jaguars’ fast-paced play going. Freshman Colleen Monahan fits the bill to become a major piece to Olson’s game-plan this season.

“She (Monahan) can hit shots. She can play defense,” Marvel said of the freshman. “Once we get her out of her shell I think she is going to be a very big asset.”

One thing D’Evelyn won’t have this season is an undefeated regular season. The Jaguars lost to Rock Canyon last week.

“I think having that loss showed us the reality of things,” Marvel said of the loss to Rock Canyon. “We will lose, but it isn’t bad that we lose. I think it will be a very valuable lesson for us to have.”

Arvada West 59, Heritage 23

The Wildcats held Heritage to 13 points in the final three quarters.

Swanson poured in 13 points in the first quarter to allow the Wildcats to jump out to a 22-10 victory before A-West’s defense really kicked in. Swanson finished with a game-high 17 points.

“I felt like I could have shot it a little bit more in the second half, but I really wanted to get my teammates involved,” Swanson said of having 15 of her 17 points in the first half.

A-West went inside in the second half with senior Malorie Byrne and junior Avery Harrison taking over. Byrne and Harrison both had three field goals each in the third quarter as the Wildcats outscored the Eagles 20-4 in the quarter.

“They are really tall and they have a lot of good skills,” Swanson said of Byrne and Harrison who finished with dozen points each. “I think they can get to the basket whenever they want. They are that talented.”

The Wildcats have a trio of double-digit victories over Fairview, Legacy and Heritage to start the season.

“We have honestly been expecting a slow start this year,” Meeks said. “We really didn’t have much time before the start of the season with so many Fall sport athletes. You can kind of see each game things are getting a little better, but there is still a lot to work on.”

A-West started the season with an 11-0 record last year, but finished with a 5-5 record in 6A Jeffco League play.

“Everyone is still feeling out their roles and responsibilities,” Meeks said of the latest version of this Wildcats. “We see signs. It is just wondering if we can do it on a constant basics.”