FORT COLLINS - Western Slope representative Basalt is going to have something to say about how the Class 3A girls tournament is going to finish.

The Longhorns used their transition game to outrun Faith Christian 62-56 on Friday night at Moby Arena. With the win the Longhorns pushed their way into the title game for the first time in school history.

Coach Carolyn Compton said her team has grown a lot this season, and their chemistry on the court has sparkled in the postseason.

"My girls just kept their composure and they refused to lose this game," said Compton, whose team will face Machebeuf in the title game. "They understand what they want and aren't willing to give up."

Faith Christian (22-4) became the third victim of the powerful Metro League to fall at state. The Longhorns (22-4) will attempt to be the first team from the Western Slope League to win a title since Meeker in 1995.

For the second time in the tournament, it wasn't easy. Faith Christian led 52-51 with three minutes left, but Basalt simply played smart basketball down the stretch.

Basalt led 56-54 with 1 minute, 12 seconds remaining, Amber Roundtree missed a 7-footer. Roundtree, one of three Faith Christian players to finish with 11 points, had two more tough shots but couldn't convert.

The Longhorns ended the scoring on a Katheryne Fitzpatrick layup in transition.

"If you know anything about Longhorn basketball we try to score about 60 percent of our points off the fast break," Compton said. "That's how we like to play."

After a 14-8 start in favor of Basalt, Faith Christian managed to tie it at 18-18 with a layup by Brittany Long. Basalt went on a 9-2 run, but Faith Christian stayed close behind Roundtree's six second-quarter points.

Dayne Toney was big off the bench for the second consecutive game. She hit her first five shots and finished with 20 points.

Cortney Bray and Long struggled for a combined 17 points, well under their average.

"We had one shooting night like this when we shot about 25 percent," Faith Christian coach Debbie Candelaria said. "There's not a lot you can do."

Faith Christian......9	19	12	16	-	56
Basalt......16	13	13	20	-	62

FC - Cortney Bray 4 3-4 11, Brittany Long 3 0-0 6, Breann McBeth 4 1-2 9, Kayla Endes 4 0-0 11, Amber Roundtree 4 3-3 11, Holly Hoguta 2 2-2 6, Athena Lopez 1 0-0 2, Amber Weingartner 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 9-11 56.

B - Amy Lund 0 0-0 0, Katheryne Fitzpatrick 6 3-5 15, Katy Mulcahy 0 2-2 2, Emily Peetz 4 0-0 8, Cassie Meyer 8 0-0 17, Esmeralda Salvatierra 0 0-0 0, Dayne Toney 9 2-2 20, Melissa Stewart 0 0-0 0, Alia Munger 0 0-0 0, Michelle Miller 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 7-9 62.

Three-point goals - FC, Endes 3; B, Meyer.

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