The Fossil girls basketball team rebounded from their loss to Rocky Mountain with a low scoring 45-37 victory against the Poudre Impalas. The two Fort Collins teams started the games neck and neck, entering halftime with Poudre holding onto a 21-20 lead. This was a win for the Sabercats, as their two leading scorers, Ella Lavigne and Kaycee Steinke were held scoreless due to early foul trouble. Luckily sophomore Gianna Leone picked up the slack, scoring 11 of Fossil’s 20 first half points. Leone finished the day with 14 points, a new career high. 

But Lavigne and Steinke both picked up the scoring in the second half, splitting 20 points right down the middle. 

“I got to get on the court a little more…I wanted to leave it all out there for my last real high school game before playoffs,” Lavigne said. 

This second half explosion was also met with a stout effort on defense, with Fossil only allowing 16 points in the last 16 minutes. After this bounceback and Fort Collins’ victory against Rocky Mountain, ruining the Sabercats’ chance at a second consecutive city championship. This success on both sides of the ball led to Fossil’s second victory in the past five games. Their recent stumbles have moved them firmly into a road playoff during the first round next Tuesday, February 21. But for the Sabercats, this is right where they want to be.

“The fact that we’re underdogs gives us the mindset that we don’t have anything to lose,” Lavigne said. “I think we’re going to come together as a team more.”

The boys basketball team locked up a top four playoff seed with a convincing 76-51 blowout against Poudre. 

The Sabercats wasted no time, piling up a 14 point lead after only one quarter. After eight minutes, three players already had at least six points. One of these players was wing Cooper McMillin who launched two three-pointers to start off hot. 

That lead ballooned to 25 at the half, with Fossil holding a comfortable 44-19 lead. Forward Nick Randall once again led the way during the first half with 14 early points. 

After some back-and-forth action, the Impalas cut the lead below 20 early in the fourth quarter. But Fossil eventually put the game away with the help of Drew Larson. Larson had a career high with both 20 points and 10 rebounds without missing a single shot. 

“It was just that nothing was going wrong,” Larson said. “My confidence coming into the game was pretty high…it’s the end of the season so we have to leave it all out there.”

Since the injury to Matthew Boldt, Larson has started all six games in his absence. He has more than held his own, averaging 10.8 points and 6.3 rebounds. But with all the added responsibility, Larson stays down to earth by keeping it simple.

“I just stick to what I’m supposed to do,” Larson said. “I just do my job and let the chips fall where they may.”

Another major part of Larson’s game besides filling his role is to outhustle everyone else. The forward is always hustling for rebounds or loose balls, often just throwing himself in the direction of the ball to create an opportunity for himself or a teammate.

“I’m not worried about getting tired…so I’m just going to go out there and do what’s best for the team,” Larson said.

Larson and the rest of the Sabercats are ready for the first round of playoffs at home on Wednesday, February 22.