Niwot falls to Silver Creek

Niwot head basketball coach Terri Ward is still on the hunt for win number 301 after the Cougars’ mid-season resurgence turned out to be short-lived. After a tough 1o-point loss to rival Silver Creek on Feb. 7, Ward seemed especially frustrated at the team’s recent offensive struggles.

“You can’t miss lay-ups and little baskets,” she said after Niwot fell 50-40 to the Raptors at home. “I bet we missed 20 points worth, at least. You can’t miss those in a game like this.”

That wasn’t the only source of Ward’s frustration. Niwot ran into foul trouble early against the Raptors, with two quick calls against junior Lily Sieben in the first quarter, putting the team’s top three-point scorer on the bench for most of the first half.

Ward said there were also some unexpected miscues from the Cougars on defense. “We have a hard time sometimes following directions and doing the things that we’ve talked about in practice. Our whole goal tonight was to not let them go right. They don’t like their left hands at all. So, that was our job, but I don’t know how many times we let them drive using their right hand.”

Niwot was able to keep the game closer in the second half, thanks to Sieben and junior Marlow Baines, who led a 8-0 run at the top of the fourth quarter. She ended the night with 10 points, while Sieben had 13 and junior Nikki Sims had eight.

Since delivering their coach’s milestone victory on Jan. 25, the Cougars have lost five straight to fall to 6-15 on the season, and 3-9 in the Northern League. They are currently at 60 in the Class 4A RPI standings, well outside the postseason threshold.

Niwot wraps up the season at home on Feb. 13 against Mountain View.

2/7 — Silver Creek 50, Niwot 40

Raptors (5-16, 3-9) 12 13 11 14 — 50

Cougars (6-15, 3-9) 11 5 8 16 — 40