Niwot girls basketball loses to Broomfield and Holy Family

The Niwot High girls basketball team faced two tough games against highly-ranked Broomfield High School on Tuesday, Jan. 28, and Holy Family High School on Friday, Jan. 31. Against elite competition, the Cougars came out on the short end of both games, losing 75-15 against Broomfield, and 63-37 against Holy Family. The team has begun looking forward to getting back in the win column in the coming weeks before the end of the season.

The Cougars fought hard, and when asked if the mindset of the team changed throughout these morale dampening matches, Head Coach Todd Trobaugh replied, "Absolutely not. They played hard from beginning to end. No better example than Jiselle Sales fighting for rebounds in the final minutes [of the Holy Family game]." Sales finished with two points on Tuesday and eight points on Friday night.

Niwot's battle against Broomfield was hard fought, with freshman Alexis Austefjord leading the team with five points, including one-for-one from three-point field range, to go with two rebounds. Sales led the team with an impressive nine rebounds throughout the game.

When asked about the loss, Trobaugh had a few things in mind for upcoming practices with the team. "We have to find ways to manufacture points off of defensive pressure. We're not going to outshoot good teams. That said, our team turned in a pretty gritty performance," Trobaugh explained.

Freshman Austefjord and fellow freshman Alaina Loomis, together with seniors Sales, Thalia Almaraz, and Hadie Adams contributed all of the scoring against Broomfield.

On Friday night, Holy Family's talent shone through, and despite the Cougars' best efforts, led to a 63-37 loss. "Holy Family was a better offensive team, especially in the second half," Trobaugh said. "Their three-point shooting was decisive. I don't know their percentage yet, but I'm sure it was well over 50%. They were deadly accurate."

Trobaugh mentioned the performance of Loomis and junior Ella Zechman, highlighting Zechman's offensive drive off the bench. Loomis was a top scorer with a 33% accuracy on 12 field goal attempts throughout the game, with one impressive three-point shot during the second quarter of the Holy Family game.

"Loomis had a strong all-around game," Trobaugh reflected. "She did a good job staying out of foul trouble and having her on the floor for most of the game really helped. She's a freshman with a huge future."

Despite the team's hard work, the half ended with the Cougars behind, 31-18, and after an intense second half, both teams had essentially doubled their score.

Spirits were high the morning after their defeat against Holy Family, with the whole team rallying at 7:45 a.m. to put some new drills and strategies to the test for the tough week ahead. When asked about the team's focus after their game, Trobaugh replied, "That's not a concern. This team really cares about each other. It's a totally different vibe from last year....Our team is still hungry, and there is a lot to play for in these last five games."

Despite the losses, the coach and athletes have high hopes for the upcoming home matches against Legacy High School on Tuesday, Feb. 4, and against the Cougars' rival Silver Creek High School on Friday, Feb. 7.