Columbine girls hoops applies the pressure in win over Golden

GOLDEN — Columbine juniors Taylor Speir and Jordyn Washington provided the offensive punch Monday night for the Rebels.

Speir and Washington combined for 45 points as Columbine cruised to a 72-47 road victory at Golden High School. The non-league game was a break in the middle of conference play for both the Rebels and Demons.

“It’s fun. It’s nice to get some different competition,” Speir said of the non-league game in the heart of Class 6A Jeffco League play for the Rebels. “Golden is a good team. It was a nice change-up.”

Columbine (11-4, 2-2) and Golden (15-2, 2-1 in 5A/4A/3A Jeffco) both played a similar defensive pressure style that created an up-tempo pace. Washington got the offense going for the Rebels pouring in a dozen of her game-high 23 points in the first quarter.

Washington poured in five 3-pointers, including her final bucket from distance in the final seconds to cap off the third straight win for Columbine.

“Defense is definitely our whole thing,” Speir said. “Everyone on our team are such great defenders. All of us working together and working hard, translates to the offensive end.”

Speir finished with 22 points, including some blocks on the defensive end. Junior Mason Abraham had 12 points and junior Kortney Brock added 9 points.

“Golden has been playing great,” Columbine coach Keegan Bell said of the 15-win Demons under first-year head coach Tanner Hobbs. “They are really well coached. He (Hobbs) has done a great job with them. It was a fun battle.”

Golden was able to erase a double-digit deficit after the first quarter with a 13-0 run in the second quarter led by senior Kempley Wellman and junior Ashlyn Bates. Wellman and Bates each scored 14 points for the Demons.

Columbine’s lead to cut to 30-27 midway through the second quarter.

Bell said his team has done a better job responding from adversity during the current 3-game winning streak. After Golden’s second-quarter run, the Rebels answered with a 25-point third quarter to open up a 20-point lead.

“It is fun as a coach when you can trust your players out there to get the momentum back without you having to micromanage everything,” Bell said. “It was good to see them stop the bleeding and get the ball rolling our way a little bit.”

The Rebels return home and back to 6A Jeffco League play later this week. Columbine hosts Lakewood (Wednesday) and rival Chatfield (Saturday) to complete the first go-around in conference play.

“This is definitely a big week for us,” Speir said. “This win will give us some momentum going into the next two league games.”

Columbine started league play with back-to-back losses to Arvada West and Valor Christian, but wins over Ralston Valley and Bear Creek last week were big.

“If you like basketball you should watch anyone in our league,” Bell said. “We have great teams and great coaches. All the match-ups are fun.”

Golden gets back into 5A/4A/3A Jeffco League action on the road against Littleton on Wednesday.

The Demons are still in the mix to contend for a conference title. Golden is only 1-game back in the loss column against league-leading Green Mountain (15-2, 3-0) and D’Evelyn (15-0, 2-0).