The Rye High Girls Basketball team continued their perfect season with a pair of victories in the district tournament and an opportunity to host the 2A girls region 5 regional tournament on Friday and Saturday.
In the opening game of the district tournament the Lady Thunderbolts dispatched Holly 69-30 in a contest that was never in doubt. Sydney Adamson poured in 31 points, had seven assists, and five steals as Rye jumped to a 29-0 first quarter lead which they increased to a 48-8 halftime lead.
Sophie Adamson scored 11 points, had six rebounds, six assists, six steals and blocked a pair of shots in the 69-30 victory. Jordan Holgerson-Rahl had six rebounds and blocked a shot and Kelsy Stribling had a blocked shot as well. Rye shot 66% from the field and 73% from the line.
The finals, against Hoehne, proved to be in the words of Head Coach Kermit Spencer “the best game of the year.”
Spencer continued, “Our game against Hoehne showed that we could be a winning team even if our scoring wasn’t quite as proficient as in some of our past contests. Playing a team for the third time in a season, obviously, is a tough task. We both understand each other’s tendencies, offensively and defensively and consequently, it became a defensive battle.”
“The game of basketball has many facets, with scoring being just one. The girls proved just how smart they are,” Spencer summarized. “With only a handful of turnovers in the entire game, six to be exact, the girls demonstrated that they could defend and take care of the ball as well as score when necessary.”
Sophie Adamson led the scoring against Hoehne with 12 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Morgan Elarton also added a dozen points in the 33-24 victory.
Sydney Adamson had eight points, eight rebounds, three assists and four steals and Holgerson-Rahl had a pair of steals. Rye shot 39% from the field and 64% from the line to clinch the district title.
“Moving forward, I feel like all three teams in our regional bracket, Front Range Christian, Heritage Christian, and Yuma, are much better than their records indicate. We must have a solid game against Front Range Christian, who we play on Friday at 5:00 pm, just so we can play and continue our season on Saturday,” Spencer assessed.
Of the final 32 teams in 2A Girls’ basketball Rye is seeded #5 with a perfect 22-0 record. First round opponent Front Range Christian is seeded #28 and has a 11-8 record. In the other half of the bracket Heritage Christian is ranked #12 and has a 19-3 record with a perfect 10-0 record in their league. Yuma is seeded #21 with a 9-11 record. The winners face each other at noon on Saturday and then travels to the Elite Eight.
“This team understands what’s on the line and what is necessary for them to reach their ultimate goal and I know they’ll give their all,” Spencer indicated. “I say that because they always give 110%. They do this each game, and I don’t see anything different from them moving forward. There’s no doubt this team has the talent and heart to move on. It’s now up to me and my responsibility to get them prepared so that everyone else can see what I see and know.”