With twin sister Lisa sitting on the bench with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a torn medial collateral ligament in her right knee, Janette hit her next seven shots, and her 18 first-half points were the spark for the Falcons' 34-20 halftime advantage.

Centauri (22-1), which knocked the Wildcats out of the tournament last year in the first round, kept the pressure on in the third quarter and forced St. Mary's into 11 of its 26 turnovers. But the lead grew only to 44-26.

St. Mary's Academy - Knapp 3 0-0 6, Lyons 2 0-0 5, Bell 4 0-0 8, Walsh 1 0-0 2, Jones 5 1-2 11, Reano 0 0-0 0, McHugh 0 0-0 0, Thayer 0 2-4 2, Wallace 1 0-2 2, Morton 1 0-1 2, Miller 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 3-9 38.

Centauri - J. McCarroll 8 3-5 22, Muniz 0 2-2 2, A. Gylling 4 2-2 10, Miller 2 1-2 5, Cooley 7 2-4 20, R. Gylling 0 2-2 2, Jaramillo 0 0-0 0, Norton 0 2-2 2, Smith 0 0-0 0, Booth 1 0-1 2. Totals 22 14-20 65.

3-pt. goals - Lyons; Cooley 4, J. McCarroll 3. Total fouls - St. Mary's Academy 17; Centauri 13. Fouled out - None. Intentional foul - Walsh. Technicals - None.

In the fast-paced opener to Thursday's Class 3A play, the Eagles pulled away from Platte Valley in the final quarter to advance to today's semifinals at Moby Arena against Denver Christian, a 53-46 winner over Pagosa Springs.

"That first half was just a track meet, and Platte Valley is so athletic and terrific offensively that we knew we were going to have to score a lot of points to compete with them today," Wall said.

The points came early and often in the first half. Faith Christian, which held the lead for all but 20 seconds of the half, carried a 42-41 lead into the break.

It was reserve guard Nicole Lukens who benefited the most, scoring 10 of her game-high 20 points after the Eagles successfully cracked the Broncos' press.

The game stayed tight into the fourth quarter, when the Eagles (23-3) finally got some separation. Lauren Hoguta and Kayla Endes hit big shots that spurred a 15-3 run in the final five minutes. The Eagles also hit 15-of-18 free throws in the final quarter.

Player of the year candidate Alison Cheney of Platte Valley never found her stroke. She finished just 2-for-12 from the field, including 0-for-6 from 3-point range, and had just 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Platte Valley - Warehime 8 2-2 20, Smith 0 0-0 0, Zehnder 4 1-2 9, Cheney 2 10-12 14, Seyler 3 3-4 9, Schrader 0 0-0 0, Maestas 0 0-0 0, Miller 1 1-4 4, Ehrlich 3 3-4 10. Totals 21 20-28 66.

Faith Christian - Long 5 9-9 19, Bray 3 3-4 9, Endes 2 6-7 10, Paulsen 5 0-0 10, Roundtree 1 0-0 2, Zevenbergen 2 1-2 5, Hoguta 2 3-4 7, Lukens 6 7-10 20, Weingartner 0 0-0 0, McBeth 0 0-0 0, Lopez 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 29-36 82.

"Because of the people ... that was the real start of getting my life going," said Young, who also coached Lions football. "That coaching staff was my kids, and that band was playing songs I heard forever."

Young's Reds didn't play their best game, but made the shots that mattered. It also didn't hurt that the Lions made just nine of their 59 shots (15 percent).

C.S. Christian - Routt 2 0-1 5, Hestermann 2 10-11 15, Friesen 1 0-0 2, Valdez 1 4-4 6, Dickinson 2 2-3 7, Beach 1 0-0 3, Beck 1 0-0 2. Totals 10 16-19 40.

Eaton - Young 3 6-8 13, Abeyta 2 2-4 7, Cunningham 5 1-2 11, Mackey 3 6-8 13, Rossman 1 0-0 2, Height 2 0-0 5, Sanders 0 0-0 0, Cazer 0 0-0 0, Stults 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 15-22 53.

3-pt. goals - Routt, Hestermann, Dickinson, Beach; Abeyta, Mackey, Young, Height. Total fouls - C.S. Christian 16; Eaton 20. Fouled out - Cunningham, Height. Technicals - None.

Not this season. The Crusaders advanced to the semifinals with a resounding victory over Pagosa Springs, and next they will take on Metropolitan League rival Faith Christian for the third time this season.

Denver Christian (25-1) shook off a sluggish first quarter and let their defense dictate the game in the second. The Crusaders held Pagosa to 0-for-5 from the floor and just four points.

"It took us a little while to get going, but we kept emphasizing the effort at the defense end," D.C. coach Becky Mudd said. "They had some good looks, that they took advantage of in the second half, but they didn't early."

"We have the confidence that we know we can win," she said. "We know them inside and out, and they know us inside and out. We know what we have to do to win."

Denver Christian - Gill 5 5-9 17, Van Deren 2 1-2 5, Lai. Baity 0 4-7 4, Lau. Baity 3 0-0 6, LeFebre 6 6-12 18, Lanhuis 0 1-2 1, Conner 0 2-2 2, McManus 0 0-0 0, Matthies 0 0-0 0, Van Denend 0 0-0 0, Rosendale 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 19-34 53.

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