The Yuma girls basketball team held off Colorado Springs Christian 31-27, Thursday morning in the Class 3A Great 8 in Hamilton Gym on the University of Denver campus.
The Outlaws, 20-6, advance to the 1 p.m. semifinal on Friday against the winner of the Resurrection Christian-Wiggins quarterfinal, which will be at 7 p.m. today.
Yuma never trailed in the “breakfast” game, tipping off at 8:45 a.m. The Outlaws held leads of nine and eight points, but never could pull away from the Lions. CSC rallied at the end of the third quarter to tie the score at 29 heading into the final stanza.
The Yuma defense stepped up big again, holding the Lions to two points in the fourth. Taryn Sheffield’s free throw with 5 seconds left provided the Outlaws with a four-point cushion.
Sheffield finished with 14 points and six rebounds, and Berkley Nighswonger 13 and eight rebounds. The Outlaws held CSC leading scorer Rose Ross well below her average as she finished with a team-high 11 points.
The win sends the Outlaws into the semifinals for the second time in three seasons. This was the first-ever meeting between Yuma and CSC in girls basketball. The Lions won the 3A title in 2024, when Yuma finished third, and were third last year.