Glenwood Springs’ goal at the beginning of the season was to make the Sweet 16.
But the Demons have played so well they needed to revise those expectations. Now, their goal is to win it all.
Glenwood Springs upset top-seeded George Washington, 48-41, in the Class 5A girls basketball Great 8 on Thursday at the Denver Coliseum to advance to the second Final 4 in program history. It was a performance that showed what the Western Slope team is capable of as they set their sights on a first state title.
“We’ve won the league the last four years, and we’ve been grinding for this moment and to do something special,” 11th-year coach
Rhonda Moser said. “We knew today, the team was going to win was the team was that was most disciplined at the end.”
George Washington led after the first three quarters, but the Demons owned the details of the fourth quarter, most importantly at the free-throw line. After going 20-of-24 from the line in their Sweet 16 win over Green Mountain last week, the Demons were 20-of-21 on Thursday, while GW finished 8-of-20.
Senior guard Joslyn Spires led Glenwood Springs with 18 points, while senior wing Tori Taylor chipped in 10. GW was paced by 18 points from junior forward Gianna Whiteside and 12 from senior guard Mya Cotto.
“We stayed calm at the end, we settled down during timeouts, we ran our plays like we were coached,” Spires said. “And when it got to the end at the free throw line, we executed.”
George Washington controlled the tempo most of the first half but struggled to finish at the rim. That, along with a strong rebounding effort by the Demons, kept it close. Neither team cracked double digits until past the midway mark of the second quarter, and the Patriots went into halftime leading 18-13.
Glenwood Springs grabbed the momentum in the third quarter, but GW wouldn’t go away and carried a three-point lead into the final quarter.
The teams were tied 35-35 with four minutes to play, and it was Glenwood Springs who had the final burst of momentum, denying the Patriots their bid at the program’s first Final 4. GW was playing without star senior guard Jaida Redwine, who sustained an ACL injury late in the regular season.
Spires said Thursday’s win for the No. 7 Demons could propel them to another upset next Thursday, when they take on the winner of No. 4 Windsor and No. 5 Mead back at the Denver Coliseum.
“Not a lot of people thought we were going to win this game, but we believed,” Spires said. “And that belief is going to carry us to the next weekend.”
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