Colorado is on to the quarters.
May 23, 2015 by in News with 0 comments
The prequarters rounds are often a test of a team’s depth or ability to efficiently save legs, and Colorado used the former to overpower Victoria by a 15-10 count.
It didn’t take long for Colorado to strike. Kali followed up an exchange of holds by notching the game’s first break on a connection from Katie Heil to Hilary Egan. Heil (4A, 1G, 0T) was the standout in the game, consistently winning her matchups by running them into the ground and taking care of business in the red zone.
“She took space so well and stepped it up when we had young players on the line,” said Boyle of Heil’s play, also explaining senior cutter had taken a shot to the knee in the previous game, but toughed it out.
The South Central champs took another two points later to go up 4-2 and, with a run from both teams, held that margin to an 8-6 halftime.
“We executed our win strategy early, which allowed us to really put faith in our legs, in our team, and in our youth,” said Colorado coach Lauren Boyle following the victory.
Victoria relied heavily on Kate Scarth (5G, 3A), Corinne Dunwoody (5A), and Naomi Redmond (1G, 2A) to keep the offense moving. When things would stagnate, it was this group that was expected to swoop in and save the day with improbable successes. Megan Cousins and Lisa Doan did an effective job limiting their impact in the first half and grinding the Vixens offense to a hault. The half time break was a much needed chance to recharge for Victoria’s centerpieces.
The half time was, notably, a strange battle of energy generation. By that, I mean, both teams sang and danced wildly. It was a stark contrast to the men’s prequarter next door, where their break was more subdued to say the least.
Alas, Colorado took control of the second half as Victoria couldn’t resist the depth of the Kali bench. The core of the Vixens had a bit more energy following their dance party, and both Scarth and Redmond came up with some excellent layout grabs that highlighted the game. But as the game wore on, the Vixens wore down. Down 13-7, they put together three straight, but that proved to be mere thrashes during their final moments.
“At this point in the weekend, a lot of teams have been playing their top end,” said Boyle. “We had a lot more to give.”
Colorado advances to a quarterfinal where they’ll face second seeded Stanford Superfly, who is giving up less than 6 points a game on average and has conceded double digits just once so far.