Perceived to be rebuilding this season, the Dakota Ridge girls basketball team refuses to fall out of striking distance.

The Eagles kept their Class 5A Jefferson County League title hopes alive Thursday night by going on the road and upending Chatfield 46-34.

Chatfield had been above Dakota Ridge in the league standings, but now the race has become more convoluted as each team ended the night 11-10 overall and 8-3 in league.

"It's very different this season because we were way up there and we lost one game, and moved way down," Dakota Ridge guard Janelle Baal said. "Everyone's is within two or three losses, so it feels good to still have a chance."

Baal led Dakota Ridge with 16 points and helped set up what possibly could be an all-the-marbles game Feb. 20 against Columbine. Columbine is atop the league standings with a 9-2 mark but already has lost once to Dakota Ridge.

"We came into this game knowing if we lost, there goes league," Baal said. "And our seeding for playoffs could be really bad."

Dakota Ridge, which got 12 points and six rebounds from center Liz Malik, led from the opening tip and pulled away in the fourth quarter. Energetic forward Elisa Schauer added 10 points and six rebounds and Brooke Orcutt added a game-best nine rebounds for the Eagles.

Chatfield was able to remain in relative striking distance only because of the long-range efficiency of Dilan Sutliff. The senior nailed three three-pointers in the second half and scored 13 of the Chargers' 16 points after intermission.

"In the first half we just weren't hitting out shots," said Sutliff, who scored 15 overall.

Dakota Ridge had been the perennial league favorite in recent seasons and had a 43-game league winning streak expire last season (the Eagles finished 9-1 in league). But four starters graduated and went on to college ball, with only the less-heralded Baal remaining.

But here the Eagles are, again directly in the mix.

Dakota Ridge 10 13 8 15 - 46

Chatfield 6 12 7 9 - 34

D - Janelle Baal 7 0-2 16, Brooke Orcutt 0 0-1 0, Jaime Brandhorst 2 2-2 6, Elisa Schauer 3 4-5 10, Liz Malik 6 0-0 12, Kaitee Ard 0 1-2 1, Skippy Tripp 0 1-2 1, Sarah Fine 0 0-0 0, Courtney Rehl 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 8-14 46.

C - Kate Kurtenbach 1 0-0 2, Dilan Sutliff 5 2-4 15, Chelsea O'Brien 2 0-0 4, Danae Morton 2 0-0 4, Chrissy Armstrong 3 1-2 7, Natalie Smart 1 0-0 2, Cass Hanna 0 0-0 0, Emily Kotulak 0 0-0 0, Kristina Kules 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 3-6 31.

Three-point goals - D, Baal 2. C, Sutliff 3.