Golddiggers finding shooting touch

EVERGREEN — Sydney Zabel was the go-to shooter as Clear Creek’s girls basketball team buried Bruce Randolph after halftime Jan. 15.

Zabel got the start to begin the third quarter and made the most of it. The sophomore went 3-for-3 from the field in the first three minutes as the Golddiggers extended their lead to 33 points by end of the 21-point third quarter for Clear Creek.

“My shots started falling,” Zabel said of scoring a season-high seven points, all scored in the third quarter Friday night. “I’ve been working and working and working. They finally started to fall.”

Clear Creek (7-3, 3-1 in Class 3A/2A Frontier League) cruised to a 57-18 victory over the Grizzlies (2-6, 0-3). It also helped fade the bitter taste of a 25-24 loss to rival Bennett earlier in the week.

“The one thing good about the Bennett loss is we were able to see what we need to work on,” Clear Creek coach Marc Gorenstein said of the loss. “Looking at the film, we weren’t making the cuts like we ought to be. Nor were we making the shots on the inside either.”

The Golddiggers went to their bread-and-butter inside game of Rebecca and Lillie Abrahamson early against the undersized Grizzlies. Lillie fed older sister Rebecca under the basket on a high-low post play on the first trip down the court. Rebecca returned the favor on the next offensive possession. Bruce Randolph coach Terry Luster quickly took a timeout to discuss a new defensive strategy.

“We are definitely still an inside team,” Clear Creek sophomore Samantha O’Brien said. “We are working the outside better now, but it’s still helpful to have that inside and be able to pound it in there to start right off the bat.”

It would appear the Golddiggers’ outside shooters would get more open looks with the threat of Clear Creek’s 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-1 towers inside, but Clear Creek struggled shooting just 10-for-34 from the field after the Abrahamson sisters made the Golddiggers’ first two shots.

The Grizzlies couldn’t take advantage. Bruce Randolph turned the ball over 15 times while scoring just a dozen points in the first half. Clear Creek held a comfortable 28-12 lead at halftime before getting hot from the field in the third quarter.

“(Zabel) was on fire. She got the ball rolling,” O’Brien said of Zabel helping the Golddiggers start 7-for-9 from the field in the second half. “It’s good when someone comes in and sinks two or three in a row. There was more confidence shooting with the whole team.”

O’Brien finished with a team-high 12 points. Fellow sophomores Rachel Lucas (nine points), Grace Werlin (eight points) and Lillie Abrahamson (eight points) led the way as nine different players found the scoring column for Clear Creek.

“I’m proud of all the girls for finding the open girl,” Gorenstein said. “This is a very unselfish team that really helps. We are pretty balanced on our scoring.”

The win kept Clear Creek within striking distance of conference leading The Pinnacle and Bennett, both 4-0 in league play.

 “It’s nice to get this win,” Gorenstein said. “Hopefully they will keep learning and getting a little bit better.”

The Golddiggers were scheduled to host DSST on Jan. 19 after press deadline. Clear Creek travels to Englewood for a 7 p.m. game Wednesday, Jan. 20, against St. Mary’s Academy.