3A GIRLS: Boulder City girls continue turnaround, head to 3A Southern League final
It was only a season ago that the Boulder City girls basketball team went winless in the Class 3A Southern League.
Now, the Eagles are headed to the state tournament with reason to believe they can compete for a championship.
Caiti Forrester scored 30 points to lead Boulder City to a 60-52 win over Moapa Valley in the semifinals of the league tournament on Thursday at Desert Oasis.
“This win is huge,” Boulder City coach Brian Lemmel said. “We understand that two teams go this year. Whether we win or lose on Saturday, we’re going.”
The Eagles will play Virgin Valley in the title game at 6:40 p.m. Saturday to determine who takes the South’s No. 1 seed to the state playoffs.
Forrester also had seven assists, six rebounds, four blocks and four steals.
In a decisive final minute, Forrester hit a baseline jump shot and assisted on a layup by Taylor McKeever that left Boulder City ahead 58-50.
“It was difficult,” Moapa Valley coach Jessica Bucklin said of matching up with Forrester, who has signed with Division II Colorado State-Pueblo. “She’s a good player. We did what we could.
“It hurt us that we sent her to the free-throw line that much. That was the difference in the game right there. We bailed them out sending them to the line.”
Boulder City shot 16-for-26 from the free-throw line, compared to 9-for-13 for Moapa Valley.
Freshman Karlee Koopman contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds for Boulder City (10-10).
Shilo Parashonts and Brianne Olige scored 13 points each for Moapa Valley (12-13). Caley Dunlap had eight assists.
Virgin Valley 43, Faith Lutheran 35 — The top-seeded Bulldogs outscored the No. 4 Crusaders 27-16 in the second half to pull away.
Lisa Henderson scored 14 points for Virgin Valley (21-7), which shot only 7-for-18 from the free-throw line.
Kelsey McCourt led Faith Lutheran (8-16) with 11 points.
Virgin Valley narrowly avoided a repeat of last season’s shocking semifinal loss to Faith Lutheran.