Line trance: No. 9 Horizon girls use perfect stretch of FTs to help beat No. 8 Erie in hoops
Jan. 12—ERIE — As part of a game-shifting run for Horizon's girls basketball team in the second quarter Friday night, the whistle may have well been the opening of "The Andy Griffith Show," only more sinister if on the side of Erie.
In a top-10 matchup in the 6A classification, the Coaches and Media's No. 9 Hawks used a sensational performance from the line to take control before halftime, and timely runs after it, to help put away the eighth-ranked Tigers, 49-40.
"We talk a lot about controllables and uncontrollables, and that was an uncontrollable," Erie coach Tyler Cerveny said of a second quarter that saw the Hawks hit 12 straight free throws, fueling a 17-4 run. "And we just told our girls, you just got to keep playing hard. They're a great team, and if you don't play hard, they're going to run you out of your gym. And the girls competed."
The Hawks — coming in at fourth in 6A's CHSAA's Selection and Seeding Index, to Erie's eighth — used a perfect 12-for-12 spurt at the stripe to erase a six-point deficit and take a 27-20 lead late in the half.
Horizon (10-2, 3-0 6A Front Range League) went 13 of 14 from the line before the break and was 15 of 22 for the game. The Tigers (7-3, 1-2) were 2 for 2 at the half, finishing 6 of 12.
"It definitely started to get to us a little bit," senior guard Maddie Hartel admitted. "But the thing we really got to do is keep our heads up. Like support each other, calm each other down, and say, 'Hey, just move on to the next play.'"
And they felt they did.
Even with the free-throw disparity, Izzie Adorno's late 3-pointer cut Horizon's advantage to 27-23 at the half. But the Tigers came out cold from the field after the break, not getting their first field goal until Sophie Husk's 3 with 2:27 left in the third as the Hawks built a double-digit lead.
Hartel's basket to start the fourth cut it to 39-32. Madyn Kassatly scored five straight as part of an 8-1 response, giving the Hawks a 47-33 lead with 2:34 remaining.
Hartel finished with 11 points for the Tigers, who shot just 34% from the field and lost back-to-back games for the first time this season after falling at Fort Collins Tuesday. Sophomore Juliet Slater added seven points, freshman Sophie Husk six and sophomore Tegan Cerveny five.
"We just need to bounce back," Slater said. "Keep our heads up and don't focus too much on the losses and just work together as a team. Stay positive."
Despite two straight losses, Erie has had a nice start to the season, only one year removed from missing the 32-team playoff field and finishing 11-12.
A big part of the reason why? Players point to the return of coach Cerveny, who came over after a successful tenure with the Skyline boys' team last year to become the program's fourth coach in as many years.
Their 7-3 record through 10 games has been a welcome flip from their 3-7 start a year ago.
"Last year was a hard year," Hartel said. "For me, that was my third coach in three years. We were young. We were juniors and freshmen who were mainly playing. Having a year under our belt really helped us grow, learn to play together and trust each other a lot more."
Up next for the Tigers, they're home against Mountain Range Tuesday, then travel to Legacy Friday before hosting Poudre Saturday.
