A-West girls basketball wins 6A Jeffco League opener at Columbine

LITTLETON — Arvada West’s girls basketball team ended a 10-game losing streak to Columbine on Monday night.

The Wildcats had lost 10 straight to the Rebels before grabbing a 50-43 victory at Columbine to open up Class 6A Jeffco League play.

“This is the first time I’ve ever beat Columbine,” A-West senior Saylor Swanson said of the Wildcats ending the losing streak on the hardwood to the Rebels dating back to the 2017-18 season.

Swanson led the Wildcats (10-1 record, 1-0 in league) with 20 points. Fellow senior Sara Walker added 9 points to grab the big win over the Rebels (8-3, 0-1). It was the 8th-straight victory for A-West.

The win didn’t come easy. The Wildcats had a 17-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but Columbine went on an 11-0 run to cut A-West’s lead to 47-41.

“We haven’t really had a tight game in a while,” A-West coach Brady Meeks said of A-West turning the ball over when trying to protect its lead in the fourth quarter. “We knew this was going to be a heck of a battle. Columbine is a really good team.”

Columbine struggled offensively with just three made field goals in the first half, but stayed in the game going 13-for-20 from the free-throw line and relying on Kortny Brock. The junior had a team-high 20 points.

“(Columbine) is a team that you can’t focus on one or two kids,” Meeks said of the Rebels’ offensive attack. “Their four main kids can all do it. We had to focus on doing our personal job on who they had defensively.”

A-West was able to overcome making just four trips to the free-throw line (2-for-4 for the game) by making eight 3-pointers. Swanson led the way with three 3-pointers. Junior Santana Pena and sophomore Macie Ferguson had a pair of 3-pointers each, while senior Avery Harrison contributed one from long distance.

“We have not shot the ball well this year,” Meeks admitted. “We have more than just Saylor that can shoot it. It was nice to see some other kids knock down some shots. They were timely shots too.”

A-West hosts Lakewood on Wednesday before finishing out the week at Bear Creek on Friday, Jan. 17.

“This was an important one,” Swanson said. “I’m really glad we got the win. It’s a good way to kickoff league. Hopefully we can keep it rolling.”

Valor Christian (9-2, 1-0) and Ralston Valley (7-4, 1-0) both grabbed opening conference wins Monday night to share the early lead in the 6A Jeffco League standings with A-West.

“It is a grind in our league,” Meeks said. “I know people talk about the Centennial and Continental, but I think Jeffco night in and night out is tough. We have to be ready to go every night.”

Columbine hosts defending 6A state champion Valor on Wednesday, Jan. 15. The Eagles will attempt to win a 7th straight Jeffco League title this season.