Arvada West girls hoops piles up wins before Winter Break

ARVADA — There was an early glimpse of what the near future might look like for Arvada West’s girls basketball program Wednesday night.

Sophomore Macie Ferguson poured in 10 points in the first quarter against Douglas County on the way to an easy 64-16 home victory for the Wildcats.

“She is going to be a fantastic player,” A-West senior Sara Walker said after Ferguson finished with a career-high 17 points in her third straight game with double-digit points. “She has a great fundamental skill set.”

Ferguson got playing time as a freshman, but in limited minutes had just one game reaching double-digit points last year. The speedy guard ripped through the Huskies’ defense in the first half and finished her scoring with a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter.

“I’ve told it to her face and to the team that she is the heir apparent to Saylor (Swanson),” A-West coach Brady Meeks said of Ferguson. “It is fun to get her going because we are going to need her.”

Swanson led the Wildcats in scoring last season as a junior from her point guard/shooting guard position. She also has played varsity since her freshman year.

With the ball in her hands, Ferguson looked comfortable running the point and running the floor for the Wildcats against Douglas County.

“I feel like I have a big role, but honestly, the teammates around me have made me feel confident,” Ferguson said. “It has allowed me to play more free. The support I’m getting from my teammates has really helped.”

Ferguson gives a lot of credit to Swanson for mentoring her over the last two years.

“She (Swanson) is such a role model and sets such a good example for me,” Ferguson said. “I really look up to her.”

Douglas County (1-6 record) was looking up at a double-digit deficit early on with A-West (6-1) outscoring the Huskies 23-2 in the first quarter. The Wildcats had a 20-0 run to end the quarter.

“It is a good confident builder for the team,” Walker said after eight different Wildcats scored in the 48-point victory. “Everyone on the team knows they can score points. People who normally don’t get as much playing time can get in and we can work as a team more.”

Walker finished with 16 points. Senior Avery Harrison had 7 points after her impressive 30-point game in the Wildcats’ final victory in Wyoming last weekend.

Meeks believes A-West has plenty of scoring depth and options this season with a nice mix of size inside and shooters.

The Wildcats have one more game before Winter Break. A-West is at Brighton (1-3) on Friday, Dec. 20.

A-West has non-league games at home against Legacy (Jan. 3) and Boulder (Jan. 10) before diving into its Class 6A Jeffco League schedule. The conference format structure for the current 2-year cycle is home-and-away games against all league foes for a dozen conference games.

The one thing the Wildcats want different than last year is turnaround their disappointing 2-8 conference record.

“We lost a bunch of close games,” Walker said of last year’s late-season struggles. “That kind of snowballed and our mentality kind of fell off at the end of the year. I really regret that. This year I just want us to stay steady as a team.”

A-West’s first three league losses last season were by a combined total of 11 points.

“We have been talking a lot since last year that every possession matters,” Meeks said. “We had five 1-possession losses last year and that really hurt us for seeding for playoffs.”

No. 3-seeded Legend bounced No. 30 A-West out of the state tournament in the opening round a year ago.

“I think the kids know that I’m more of an old man and a little big more ornery this year,” Meeks said. “I owe them a little more. I’ve been a little too nice with them at times. This year wasn’t going to be that way. Everyone knows if we want to meet the goals and expectations that we want to get, we just need to be more cognitive of the small details.”