Niwot girls basketball youth shows

The Niwot High School girls basketball team is very young - and the learning curve is painful. The Cougars hosted Roosevelt High School Dec. 6, and the final score, with Roosevelt on top 87-20, gave an indication of how far Niwot has to go to compete with the best.

Roosevelt has a record of 2-1, with the only loss coming against a 5A Cherry Creek team in the opening week of the season. Against Niwot, Roosevelt took control early and never let up.

The Cougars were led by sophomore Rose Pacheco, who scored eight points. Sophomore Alex Mounce with five points was the only other Cougar to score a field goal. Dismal shooting (11%) and 27 turnovers told the story of the game.

Niwot did show improvement at the free throw line, hitting on 12 out of 21 attempts (57%).

On Saturday, Dec. 10, the Cougars traveled to Silver Creek High School to face their cross-town rival, and came out strong, leading 11-9 after the first quarter. But the Raptors took control in the second quarter and Niwot went cold, with Silver Creek outsourcing the Cougars 14-4 to take a 23-15 halftime lead.

The Raptors added to their lead in the third quarter, which ended with Silver Creek up 35-22. The fourth quarter was no different as Silver Creek prevailed, 47-28.

Next up for the Cougars is at Severance High School, 1-0 on the season, on Thursday, Dec. 15 at 6 p.m.