LITTLETON — Columbine’s assistant women’s basketball coach Kylie Boulding earned her first win as a Rebel varsity coach Wednesday night.
“It felt great,” Boulding said after beating Arvada West 55-36 at home in his debut as national team head coach. “Greg and I have worked together a lot. It made my job on the sidelines a lot easier.”
Greg Boulding Jr. — the Columbine head coach who actually proposed to his assistant coach on the Rebel basketball court after a game last season — is currently in Portland, Oregon, attending a Nike board meeting through Friday. Kylie plans to return to Colorado in time for her husband to play the Rebels’ home game against rival Chatfield on Friday.
“He could be back on Friday or we’ll be looking for a second win against Chatfield,” Kyrie said. “I hope there are no delays (of the flights). No matter what happens, Friday night will have the same energy.”
Columbine (7-10, 2-2 in Class 6A Jeffco League, Class 6A Jeffco League) were desperate for a conference victory after losing streaks to Ballor Christian and Chatfield last week. The Rebels have lost 5 of their last 6 matches.
Columbine Jr.’s Emily Allison said, “It was a really good win to get the momentum back. “It was good to score and do what we know we can do.”
Allison led all scorers with 19 points, but the Rebels’ top scorer had a lot of help. Seniors Dakota Archuleta (13 points) and Araya Ogden (12 points) also finished with his double-digit points.
Columbine took an early 20-4 lead in the second quarter and held the A Wests (12-4, 1-3) to 11 points in the first half.
Kylie said, “We talked about how it all comes down to discipline tonight.” I’m proud of them for listening to and executing on our game plan, and we really delivered on that in the first quarter.”
A-West Senior Brooke Meeks hit two 3-pointers in the second quarter against two field goals the Wildcats made in the second quarter.
Senior Ellie Pugliese finished with eight points to give A-West the lead. The Wildcats had a good third quarter defensively, holding the Columbine to just 3 points.The Rebels took a 29-21 lead going into the final quarter.
Allison, Archuleta and Ogden took over in Q4. He won a combined three of 24 of his 26 points Columbine scored in the fourth quarter.
“Finishing is something I’ve struggled with all season,” Kyrie said. “This is what we’ve been working on every day. I’m glad it’s over.”
Rebel was clearly happy that he played well for his acting coach.
“It was great to see us play well and give Kyrie the win,” Allison said.
Columbine will host Rival Chatfield as part of the women’s/men’s varsity doubleheader, which begins at 5:30 p.m. Friday night.
“The Chatfield game is always important to us. “This should give us confidence heading into Friday.”
A-West will try to turn their fortunes around when they face Lakewood on the road Friday. The Wildcats started the season with his impressive 11-1 record, but dropped conference games to Ralston Valley, Chatfield and A-West.