The Fossil Ridge girls basketball team drove over five hours and spent the night in southwest Colorado, all in preparation for their playoff game against the ten seed Fruita Monument Wildcats.

The two teams have two very different paths to lead to this point. Fossil has faced some of the toughest teams in Colorado, including seven teams ranked top 50 in the state. The Sabercats were 2-5 in these matchups, but neither of the wins came against a top 30 opponent. As a result the underdogs will have to pull off a monumental win against the 25th ranked Wildcats. 

For Fruita Monument, their journey started going 3-1 during an out-of-state tournament in Utah. But their relative distant location severely limited the quality of teams the Wildcats faced this season. Fruita Monument only played five games against opponents in the Colorado top 50, going only 2-3 in those contests.

The Wildcats were in a similar situation last year, finishing as the ten seed and was able to secure a home victory to move onto the final 16. However, Fossil Ridge had more success than Fruita, making the elite 8 despite being a lower seed. 

Even though this is a much younger Sabercat team which has had their struggles, they are hungry and ready to fight their way to a road victory. Sophomore Gianna Leone expressed that sentiment before the team departed for Fruita on Monday afternoon.

“We know that it’s going to be hard,” Leone says. “We just need to play our game to get us the win.”

Leone has been a revelation for Fossil, working her way up from the bench to a starting role while still being an underclassman. The forward has been a major force on the boards in her last seven games averaging over six rebounds a game.

Leone and the Sabercats hope to emerge victorious when the two teams match up on February 21 at 6 p.m.