3 thoughts as Rocky Mountain girls beat Poudre

A fast start boosted the Rocky Mountain High School girls basketball team past Poudre Friday night.

The Lobos quickly raced on an 11-0 run to open the game on the way to a 55-44 win.

The game hovered around the 10-point margin throughout, but Poudre did threaten several times in the second half as the cut within a three possessions.

Here are three thoughts on the game.

Balance — The Lobos (9-8, 4-3 Front Range League) rotated through as many players as possible on Friday and spread the scoring wealth out.

Maddy Bennett took the early lead, splashing a 3-pointer as Rocky Mountain built a double-digit lead early and she finished with a team-high 13.

Kiley Towne was consistently reliable as usual and dropped in 10. Savannah Warner was dominant in the paint for 10 and Julia Schlepp had 10 as well, most of them timely to squelch Poudre runs.

Gabriella McDonald added eight, despite playing limited minutes with a big brace on her knee.

This is Rocky Mountain at its best. No one main scorer, but lots of contributors.

Impalas youth and leadership — Poudre (4-12, 0-6 FRL) only has four seniors and several freshmen play significant minutes.

For the youngsters, it will pay off in the future. There are growing pains, but so many minutes early in the careers of players like Brooke Bohlender and Jadyn Luna will pay off down the road.

In the here and now, the seniors did what you expect seniors to do. Elsa Berkner hit three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as Poudre several times closed the gap to seven. She finished with a game-high 14. Mattie Bannister scored 11 for Poudre. Junior Libby Couture added eight.

Playoff picture — Rocky Mountain entered Friday 29th in Class 5A in RPI and will look to improve its seeding possibilities. The Lobos have six regular-season games left, including ones against the top two teams in the conference in Horizon and Fairview.

Poudre entered Friday No. 42 in RPI, with 48 teams making the playoffs. The Impalas will look to pick up a couple wins in their final seven to make sure of a spot in the postseason.

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

ROCKY MOUNTAIN 55, POUDRE 44

Poudre 8 8 12 16 — 44

Rocky Mountain 15 10 14 16 — 55

Poudre (4-12, 0-6) — Berkner 14, Bannister 11, Couture 8, Bohlender 5, Lowrey 4, Russo-Delee 2.

Rocky Mountain (9-8, 4-3) — Bennett 13, Towne 10, Warner 10, Schlepp 10, McDonald 8, Martinez 3, Eccher 1.