NHS girls basketball gets 2nd win

A young group of mostly sophomore Niwot High School girls picked up just their second basketball win of the season in Tuesday's home matchup with visiting Fort Morgan High School.

The convincing 53-23 score against the winless Mustangs had to have provided a boost of confidence going into Saturday's matchup with Northridge High School in Greeley. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to overcome a strong Northridge onslaught, with the Cougars on the short end of the 55-37 final score.

With just two graduating seniors in Peyton Burnett and Tiffany Yie and two juniors, Chloe Mitchell and Molly Slupik, the varsity is otherwise all sophomores but for freshman point guard Ella Zechman.

Against Fort Morgan, sophomore Rose Pacheco led the scoring with 18 points, shooting 60% from the field, including two field goals from 3-point range. Thalia Almarez, another sophomore, was also in double figures with 10 points. Slupik added seven points. Although the game wasn't close, the Cougars continued to struggle from the free-throw line, making only 12 of 30 attempts.

Almarez and Slupik led the Cougars in rebounding with six, while Yie and Evelyn Melis added five rebounds each, and Mitchell, Pacheco and sophomore Haddie Adams had three apiece. Melis had four assists and Yie added three more. Almarez helped the cause with five steals and Pacheco added three more.

While having such a young team of up and comers is something to look forward to for next year, Coach Jon Hill said he's really proud of how the girls are playing, that they are working hard and developing confidence especially with the win over Fort Morgan.

Next week the Cougars have two tough matchups against Roosevelt High School on the road and at home against Riverdale Ridge High School, before facing Battle Mountain High School at home on Saturday.