On Friday the Fossil Ridge High School girls varsity basketball suffered a crushing defeat to the Valor Christian Eagles 22-63 in the Elite Eight state tournament at the Denver Coliseum. The Sabercats were the 8th seed while the Eagles were positioned at the number one seed. Throughout the entire game, Fossil Ridge played with their heart and held their heads high. 

Alexis Kohler, Davin Tonn, Allison Osthoff, Lauren Zwetzig and Sophie Hadad started the game with an intense energy that took Valor by surprise. In just under a minute Hadad scored the first points of the entire game. Fossil’s dynamic offense and the powerful defense held strong, but Valor had begun to turn up the heat. Two minutes later, Valor had scored 11 points back to back. This trend continued, allowing Valor to sweep the first quarter, leaving Fossil behind by 13 points. As the second quarter progressed, Fossil struggled to put points on the board. Valor’s defense was not letting the Sabercats have any time with the ball and refused to pull back any punches. By the time the second quarter had ended, the Sabercats needed to overcome a 31 point deficit.

After a brief halftime break and a memorable performance by Fossil Ridge’s band, the Sabercats came back to the court with their claws out. Fossil’s defense rushed the Eagles with everything they had and slowed the pace at which the Eagles were putting points on the board. Valor was about to crack under the pressure, but Fossil was not able to overcome the number of points that Valor had scored in the first half. The final score of the game was 22-63. 

The next generation of Sabercats will surely remember this game heading into next season, and another dominant Fossil Ridge basketball team will continue on with the work ethic that seniors Alexis Kohler, Davin Tonn, Allison Osthoff, Lauren Zwetzig, Sophie Hadad and Jazi Barela had instilled in them. Congratulations on making it to the Elite Eight and good luck next season!