ERIE — Late into the first half of Erie girls basketball’s home game against Mead on Tuesday night, in transition from a strong defensive stand on the other end of the floor, Juliet Slater made a perfect dime to Addison Greenlee, who laid the ball in with ease.
A little over a minute earlier, a long, mid-range jumper from Greenlee gave the Tigers the lead.
In the third, Sophie Husk had two consecutive steals and baskets off of Mead inbound pass attempts to pad a 3-pointer from Reagyn Allen just seconds before. That pivotal moment helped ignite a 12-0 run for the Tigers, who went on to win 45-37.
“(Head coach Tyler Cerveny) tells us every practice to hit a dagger shot, and we hit a dagger shot and then got a couple of steals, and it worked out for us,” senior power forward Allen said.
Those sequences, while miniscule in respect to the full 32 minutes of action, illuminated just how far the Tigers have come in Year 4 under Cerveny — a tight defense, a well-oiled offense.
A year before he first picked up the whistle, during the 2021-22 slate, Erie finished with a tepid 7-17 record. Cerveny’s first year wrought an 11-12 mark, and the Tigers have just gotten better and better since.
Erie’s Natalie Fetters takes a 3-pointer during Mead’s road game at Erie on Jan. 20, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Mead’s Taylor Gordon (left) tries to block a shot from Erie’s Reagyn Allen during Mead’s road game at Erie on Jan. 20, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Mead’s Elena Gomez, right, tries to weave around Erie’s Tegan Cerveny, left, on Tuesday night. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Mead’s Emmy Tecu makes a pass during Mead’s road game at Erie on Jan. 20, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Mead’s Elena Gomez drives toward the basket with pressure from Erie’s Addison Greenlee during Mead’s road game at Erie on Jan. 20, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Mead’s Madi Clark, left, tries to steal the ball from Erie’s Sophie Husk during their game Tuesday night. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Mead’s Madi Clark looks to make a pass during Mead’s road game at Erie on Jan. 20, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
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Erie’s Natalie Fetters takes a 3-pointer during Mead’s road game at Erie on Jan. 20, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
“Honestly, since he’s gotten here, we’ve gotten closer and closer as a team. I think we went from having a very uncultured team to being very close in culture, and I think it’s helped us, ultimately,” Allen said. “We want it more this year. We’re the closest team we’ve been in four years, and we just want it, so we try really hard.”
With Tuesday’s win, the Tigers, ranked No. 10 in CHSAA’s Class 6A Selection & Seeding Index, improved to 9-3. Allen, a weapon from behind the arc, finished her night with 15 points, while Husk and senior Natalie Fetters chipped in nine and eight more points, respectively.
Mead, who’s No. 8 in 5A, has been learning to play without two important pieces — Maddy Wright and Hayden Berglund — who are out with injury. The Mavericks struggled to make up for lost time after Erie’s early 12-0 run, but came close to closing the gap completely when they trailed just 31-28 toward the end of the third quarter.
“It’s actually been a great opportunity for other people to step up and maybe play in roles that they haven’t played in before, so it’s great practice for leadership,” said senior Elena Gomez, who finished with 14 points. “We definitely need roles filled for hustling and just scoring roles filled, so it’s a great opportunity for a lot more to step up.”
From there, Erie put them away once and for all to drop them to 9-4 on the season. The Tigers will next host Broomfield on Friday, while Mead will host Niwot on the same night.
“In our league, there’s not just one girl who can do it all,” Gomez said. “Teams have strength all around, all five girls on the court. There’s very dynamic teams. There’s shooters. There’s great ball handlers, but it comes down to heart and fundamentals and just who wants it more.”