Chaffee GBB dumps Meadow Heights 61-27 in Class 2 District 3 semifinals

CHAFFEE – The Chaffee Lady Devils have not won a district championship since 2015.

They are one step away from quenching that decade-long drought.

Using layups, floaters and stifling defense – and three players scoring double figures – second-seeded Chaffee pummeled No. 3 seed Meadow Heights 61-27 in the Class 2 District 3 Tournament semifinals on Thursday, Feb. 27, at Chaffee High School.

“Honestly, we stayed positive and had good attitudes together,” said sophomore Kiersten Arnold, who scored a game-high 15 points. “We played as a team. We didn’t get mad at each other, stayed together, and kept at it the whole time.”

Arnold put on a clinic, scoring double digits and grabbing seven rebounds. Zoe Bentley finished with 13 points and sophomore Carlyanne Cossou added 12, as the Lady Devils throttled the Panthers for the second time this season.

Chaffee (17-6) will take on top-seeded St. Vincent for the district title Saturday afternoon.

“It's like I said all year long: they bring the effort and they play hard,” head coach Kennan Elfrink. “We hadn't played a game for 12 days and we were very rested. So, it's been one of those years where it's been kind of up and down consistency-wise, so it's sometimes hard for the kids to show up, but, really, they've been coming to practice with a great mindset and practicing hard.”

Chaffee took a double-digit lead into the second quarter before Bentley knocked down a 3-pointer on the first play of the frame to make it 18-5. Minutes later, Cossou’s three-point play broke things open with 3:14 left as the Lady Devils took a 35-19 advantage at halftime.

And by the end, it did not look like a 2-vs-3 matchup.

Freshman Rylann Yamnitz led the Panthers (8-17) with 10 points. Jaycee Shelton had six, but after her 3-pointer trimmed the deficit to 18 with 3:48 left in the third quarter, Meadow Heights couldn't pull closer.

Cossou banked home a layup as time expired in the third as Chaffee pushed its lead to 47-23. Addison Stratton put on the finishing touches with a three-point play with 30 seconds to go, setting off the home bench and crowd.

In his first season leading the program, Elfrink has guided the Lady Devils to their first district championship appearance since 2018. Backed by a strong sophomore class led by Arnold and Cossou, District 3 girls basketball could get used to seeing this program as a consistent title threat for years to come.

“They're just learning more and more about the game of basketball,” Elfrink said. “They're great athletes, and they play hard and they compete at a high level. And so we're just figuring out how to play the game and they’ve come a long way. Zoe Bentley, the lone senior, has done a great job and has really had a great year. Then we’ve got a couple juniors with Addison Stratton and Malinah Robertson, but the rest are sophomores and a couple freshmen. Very successful in softball, so they know how to win and how to compete, and that always translates over to the next sport. Now it's just trying to figure out how to play the game, but as long as you can compete and play hard, you always give yourself a chance no matter what you're playing.”

But for now, St. Vincent will be the only thing on Chaffee’s mind.

“It's been phenomenal so far,” Arnold said of the season. “We've been in the gym and we've worked our butts off. We've noticed since the beginning of the season that this is what we're going to do: we're going to win through and come up against St Vincent. We've been in the gym working for it, so, at this point, it’s sink or swim.”

The Lady Devils will host the No. 1 seed Lady Indians in the Class 2 District 3 championship on Saturday, Mar. 1, at 1:30 p.m.