ARVADA - Senior Cortney Bray admitted after her basketball game against Weld Central on Friday afternoon that she hadn't heard of that school before this week.

The Faith Christian senior might remember the Rebels. While the Eagles eventually dispatched Weld Central 64-37 to advance to the Sweet 16 of the Class 3A state tournament, it wasn't easy early.

"(Weld Central) surprised us a little bit, but not much," Bray said. "We came in from the first half and all we talked about was stepping it up on defense.

"That let us get on the offensive side and start tearing it up."

The Eagles (20-3), who will play Lamar today, used a near- perfect performance on offense in the second quarter to pull away for a 36-18 lead at halftime.

Bray led Faith Christian with 17 points and seven rebounds, but a different player responded each quarter for the Eagles, the top seed in the Bostrom Region. Breann McBeth and Brittany Long scored 14 and 13 points, respectively, to lead the balanced attack.

Weld Central junior Dana Schreibvogel kept the eighth- seeded Rebels close early. Finding ways to get open with some quick dribbling, Schreibvogel scored 10 of the Rebels' 13 first- quarter points.

She finished with 21 points to lead all scorers, but her teammates combined for only three field goals.

"We went their speed and we played faster than we wanted to in the second (quarter)," said Weld Central coach Matt Baumgartner, whose team finished 7-17 but will return mostly intact next season.

Weld Central......13	5	11	8	-	37
Faith Christian......18	18	9	19	-	64

WC - Linnea Gingerich 2 4-5 9, Kayla Buzzard 0 0-0 0, Kristin Helzer 1 1-2 3, Dana Schreibvogel 9 3-4 21, Amber Gustafson 0 0-4 0, Kaylee Helzer 0 0-0 0, Shelby Roskop 0 0-0 0, Haylee Ries 0 2-2 2, Ariel Pohl 0 0-0 0, Sarah Waldron 0 0-0 0, Samantha Schadel 0 0-0 0, Viktoria Gustafson 0 2-2 2. Totals 12 12-19 37.

FC - Cortney Bray 8 1-2 17, Brittany Long 5 1-2 13, Breann McBeth 7 0-0 14, Kayla Endes 2 0-0 4, Amber Roundtree 4 0-0 8, Kirsten Johnson 0 0-0 0, Holly Hoguta 0 0-0 0, Athena Lopez 2 0-0 4, Amber Weingartner 1 0-0 2, Ashley Savage 1 0-0 2, Shelby Bartusek 0 0-0 0, Devin Barth 0 0-0 0. Totals 30 2-4 64.

Three-point goals - WC, Gingerich; FC, Long 2. Fouled out - Long.

LAMAR 65, VALLEY 62 OT - Lindsay Osborn's 13 second-half points propelled Lamar to the Sweet 16.

The Vikings' Sage Martinson came alive in the fourth quarter, scoring seven of her nine points then. The freshman was fouled on a putback and made the ensuing free throw late in the quarter to give the Vikings a 56-55 lead.

Lamar's Kaitlyn Higgins was fouled seconds later. She hit one of two free throws to tie it at 56.

After two free throws by Billie Jo McCurren, Lamar trailed by two with only 8 seconds remaining.

Osborn, quiet most of the fourth, was fouled on a drive to the basket with less than a second left. The senior hit both free throws to send the game into overtime.

"I knew I had to do something right there," Osborn said. "Thankfully, I made the shots."

The momentum stuck with the Savages. Playing a zone defense, Lamar kept Valley from making any easy baskets in the extra session.

Valley......19	10	14	15	4	-	62
Lamar......12	18	16	12	7	-	65

V - Shanae Gonzales 5 1-2 12, Billie Jo McCurren 9 2-4 21, Devin Eckhardt 8 0-1 16, Sage Martinson 4 1-1 9, Valeen Thomas 0 0-0 0, Marissa Martinez 2 0-0 4, Sierra Bennett 0 0-0 0, Holli Sutton 0 0-0 0, Michaela Odenbaugh 0 0-0 0. Totals 28 4-8 62.

L - Jessie Hines 0 2-3 2, Kaitlyn Higgins 6 5-8 17, Brittany Higgins 5 4-5 14, Lindsay Osborn 4 7-11 16, Kirstin Knobbe 3 1-2 8, Chrislyn Tate 0 0-0 0, Breann Smith 1 0-0 2, Jaileen Barrow 2 0-0 6. Totals 21 19-29 65.

Three-point goals - V, Gonzales, McCurren; L, Barrow 2, Knobbe, Osborn. Fouled out - Martinson.

Matt Southard, Special to the Rocky

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