Sierra girls basketball surges by Dakota Ridge for first playoff win since 2020

COLORADO SPRINGS – The last time the Sierra girls basketball team won a playoff game, the world was days away from shutting down. The last time the Stallions just made the playoffs, the world didn’t seem fair. The night before the 57-point loss to D’Evelyn, Shetara Roebuck suffered a concussion and was forced to watch on the sideline.

As the starting lineups were announced on Wednesday, her eyes filled with tears as she realized that this was her first playoff game for her school.

“I was crying on the bench because of my nerves,” she said. “I was able to collect myself, my team was there for me and we just played our game.”

Once the ball was thrown in the air, the tears were gone and replaced with a laser focus. Roebuck led the Stallions with 25 points as they beat Dakota Ridge 57-22 in the play-in round of the Class 5A girls basketball state tournament.

“We started rough, but we collected ourselves,” Roebuck said. “We boosted our confidence, were able to pick everybody up and play our game.”

The rough start was clearly a result of nervousness. Emery Bowman helped the Eagles jump out to a 6-2 lead early in the first quarter, which resulted in a timeout from Sierra coach Joe Williams.

Then the Stallions (15-9) started galloping.

They ended the first quarter on a 9-0 run and built a 30-10 lead at halftime.

In the second half, Marisa Reyes got in the action, scoring eight of her 14 points in the third quarter. The senior guards truly seized the opportunity to play a home playoff game and performed the way that anyone could have hoped for.

Williams got emotional thinking about the journey for this group, Roebuck missing the last playoff game, then the team going 7-16 in 2023-24 and missing the postseason.

“[Shetara] never got the chance to play [two years ago],” he said. “This was her first playoff game and she took full advantage.”

With the Eagles (10-14) looking to double-team Deja Burns in the post and limit her scoring chances, someone had to step up.

Roebuck connected on three 3-pointers in the first half and scored 10 of the team’s 19 points in the second quarter. Burn connected on some tough baskets along the way, scoring eight on the night, just shy of season average of 9.5 points per game.

Across the board, it was a team win that Williams knew his roster was capable of producing.

“We’ve been telling the girls all year long, we have a good team when we’re clicking,” Williams said.

A lot can be made about the offense, but what the veteran head coach was most proud of was the defensive effort of his girls. He credits the effectiveness of the offensive side of the floor to the opportunities that were created by the defensive end.

“When we play defense like that, you get a shot blocker back there as a guard, you can take more chances,” Williams said.

The Stallions move on in the tournament and will head to No. 5 Green Mountain on Saturday.