Demons to meet D’Evelyn in playoffs

Rifle teams face Golden Friday, Saturday

By Joelle Milholm
Post Independent Staff
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado
February 29, 2008

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Class 4A State Playoffs

Boys Second Round, Friday • Rifle (15-8) at Golden (18-5), 7 p.m. Girls Second Round, Saturday • D’Evelyn (17-7) at Glenwood Springs (19-3), 1 p.m. • Rifle (13-10) at Golden (19-4), 1 p.m. • Admission: $6 adults, $5 students/seniors

GLENWOOD SPRINGS — After receiving a first-round bye, the Glenwood Springs Demons are now preparing to face D’Evelyn in the second round of the Class 4A state tournament on Saturday.

The Demons, who are a No. 3 seed and bring a 19-3 regular season record into the showdown, get to play on their home court and that’s a factor Glenwood head coach Bryan Derby is hoping will give them an advantage.

“I hope it is good for us,” he said. “I hope we can get the crowd into it because being home really does help.”

Outside of having fans, the Demons will be relying on the strong play of the Selsor sisters and center Kelsie Hert. Sharaya Selsor ranks second in the state in scoring, with an average of more than 22 points per game, while Katrina leads the state in assists per game (7.23) and ranks high in rebounds per contest (6.59).

Hert, at 6-foot-1, has proved her power in the paint by averaging 7.36 rebounds and 2.55 blocks per game — both rank among the state’s best.

Derby knows the odds are D’Evelyn (17-7) will be focusing on the dangerous trio.

“I have a feeling they are going to focus on those three pretty good, so we’ll need someone else to step up,” he said. “I know they can all do it, it is just whether or not they do it.”

Leading the way for the Jaguars — who defeated Fort Morgan, 58-47, on Wednesday night to advance to the second round — is junior Krystal Pittman. The guard averages over 18 points per game and helped D’Evelyn finish fourth in the Jeffco League this season.

Derby admitted he doesn’t know much about the Jaguars, but it doesn’t matter to him because he just wants his girls to do what has made them succeed this year.

“We are just going to go out there with the same game plan that we have had all year and that is to outrebound them and give them just one shot,” he said.

The game will hit the new Glenwood Springs High School gym at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The winner of the contest will advance to the Sweet 16 where they will be matched up with the winner of Saturday’s Longmont-Mesa Ridge contest.

The Rifle girls will also be in action on Saturday, as the 13-10 Bears will travel to 19-4 Golden for a second-round game. Rifle advanced to the second round after beating Mountain Range, 68-55, on Wednesday night. Golden should prove to be a tough opponent as it is a No. 1 seed in the tournament — a privilege it earned after winning the Jeffco League title.

Rebounding machine Megan McWillaims and fellow seniors Chelsea Webb and Alissa Skinner will be looking for an upset with their high school careers on the line.

The Rifle boys will also be paired up against Golden in a second round game set for 7 p.m. on Friday in Golden. The Bears have reached the second round by defeating Thompson Valley, 63-52, on Tuesday night.

The speedy Rust brothers will once again look to cause damage against their opponents, as the duo is scoring over 30 points a game.

The Demons of Golden finished second in the Jeffco lead and are led by Chris Lambrecht, Dylan Dillie and Alex Miller, who all have double-digit scoring averages.