Standley Lake girls basketball steals win versus Evergreen

WESTMINSTER — Fans of high school girls basketball got their money’s worth Wednesday night at Standley Lake High School.

When the dust settled after a wild fourth quarter that included a furious 23-point quarter by Evergreen, steal and go-head layup by Standley Lake sophomore Rae Coronado and foul at the buzzer that gave Evergreen the chance to send the game into overtime … Standley Lake escaped with a dramatic 49-48 victory over the Cougars.

“I did what I do best,” Coronado said of the huge steal and break-away layup to give the Gators a 49-47 lead with 9 seconds left.

Evergreen (7-12, 1-4 in Class 5A/4A/3A Jeffco League) had the ball with under 20 seconds to play and the game tied at 47-47. Evergreen senior Nuala Hart sent a pass to teammate Taylor Bailey from above the top of the key. However, Coronado anticipated the pass, made the steal and drove for an uncontested layup to give Standley Lake (16-3, 4-1) the lead.

“We were looking for a steal, but we were also in foul trouble,” Standley Lake coach Virgil Luben said of Coronado’s eventual game-deciding steal and layup. “She is an incredible little guard that can get a steal out of nowhere sometimes. She surprises me even at times.”

Coronado finished with 11 points, which included a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter that actually gave the Gators a 39-28 lead.

“I’m a big defensive person,” Coronado said. “Defense wins championships. Offense sells tickets. I’ve always been like that since I started playing basketball.”

Coronado admitted she did get scared when the Cougars went on their furious run in the fourth quarter. A pair of free throws by junior Avery Coppin with 1:29 left in the final quarter gave Evergreen its first lead, 47-45 since an early 2-0 lead in the first quarter.

Standley Lake answered with sophomore Sydney Martin getting fouled in the paint and making both free throws to tie things up 47-47 left 35 seconds left in the game.

Coronado’s steal and layup put the Gators back up, but it wasn’t over. Evergreen senior Addie McEvers full-court inbound pass with 1.4 seconds found the hands of sophomore Elle Buenning, who was fouled before she went up for a shot.

Buenning had a pair of free throws with no time left on the clock with the chance to send the game into overtime. The sophomore made the first, but her second free throw was short. The Gators stormed the court after surviving the 1-point win.

Senior Mikela Alvarado led Standley Lake with 13 points on the night. Buenning had a game-high 14 points, with 10 coming in the fourth quarter.

Evergreen have lost 5-of-6, but still has a good chance to go on a run to end the regular season. The Cougars face Dakota Ridge, Pomona, Littleton and Conifer to finish up their conference schedule. All four of those teams are in the same boat as Evergreen with sub-.500 records in league play.

Standley Lake is still in the mix for a league championship with Green Mountain (18-2, 6-0), D’Evelyn (17-0, 4-0) and Golden (17-2, 4-1).

“We still have Golden and D’Evelyn left. Both really tough teams,” Luben said of the remainder of the Gators’ league schedule. “It is a battle at the top for sure. It’s good for Jeffco. We’ll have a lot of teams who are going to be in the playoffs.”

Currently in the Class 5A girls basketball CHSAA Selection & Seeding Index, Green Mountain, Standley Lake and Golden are all in the top-13. D’Evelyn is No. 2 in the 4A index.