Fort Collins girls basketball team barely edges Poudre

One final heave with everyone holding their breath.

Just short.

One half of the gym exhaled in relief while the other sighed at the close miss.

What a game and what a finish Tuesday night as the Fort Collins High School girls basketball team edged Poudre 46-44.

Here are three thoughts on the game.

To the end — After Fort Collins (17-2, 7-2 Front Range League) grew a two-possession lead in the fourth quarter, Poudre managed to fight back in the final minute.

The Impalas (6-14, 2-7 FRL) were within two in the final 30 seconds but couldn’t find a shot to tie or take the lead on one possession. The next trip down, Jadyn Luna’s free throw pulled Poudre within one in the final 10 seconds, but she missed the tying attempt. Ella Palm had a last-second heave of a 3-pointer for the win, but it fell short.

Takes a team — Fort Collins used contributions from just about everyone to pull out the win. Rachel Jones hit two key 3-pointers in the third quarter, as the Lambkins cut into Poudre’s lead. Isabel Layne had two big buckets late in the third, as Fort Collins started to re-establish control. Emily Williams had two first-half 3's.

Delsie Johnson had eight of her game-high 15 in the final quarter, and Maiya Swanson added nine, with two key fourth-quarter buckets.

Battling Impalas — Poudre simply scraped and clawed their way through this one. The Impalas defended well and found a different key offensive player at different times.

Elsa Berkner scored a team-high 12, hitting timely shots. Luna hit three key 3-pointers on the way to 11 points. Eight Poudre players scored.

Playing against a 16-win team, it was a perfect formula for Poudre; the Impalas just came up one possession short.

Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle at twitter.com/Kevin_Lytle and at facebook.com/KevinSLytle.

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FORT COLLINS 46, POUDRE 44

Poudre 5 16 10 13 — 44

Fort Collins 4 15 13 14 — 46

Poudre (6-14, 2-7) — Berkner 12, Luna 11, Couture 6, Bohlender 4, Workman 4, Russo-Delee 3, Bannister 2, Palm 2.

Fort Collins (17-2, 7-2) — Johnson 15, Jones 10, Swanson 9, Williams 6, Layne 6.