Nederland High School's basketball teams ended their seasons on a high note with victories for the girls and boys teams in their last games of the season.
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Nederland Girls' Basketball Head Coach Val Gane and senior Abbey Moore exchange a friendly conversation during the game.
Brook Pattridge sinks a jump shot to put the Panthers up by four points.
Naima Bullings takes the ball out of bounds as her Panther teammates are in position to play.
Nederland sophomore Adeline Buckland's shooting skills helped give the Panthers a win for their last home game of the season.
Abbey Moore was showered with gratitude and appreciation from her coach and teammates. Moore is the senior on the Nederland Girls' Basketball Team this season.
During Senior Night Ben Weber was honored by the Nederland Middle-Senior High School Community for being the senior on the Nordic Ski Team this season. He has had a phenomenal high school career in Nordic skiing and cross country.
During Senior Night Lucas Olson and his mom were honored.
Nederland team captain Mason Ivey is honored along with his family at Senior Night.
Junior Micah LeFaiver plays tough defense against Two Roads Charter during the last home game of the season.
Senior Liam Robertson stands with his family while Coach LeFaiver recognizes him at Senior Night.
Senior Isaac Buckland stands with his family while being recognized during Senior Night.
Drew Hertzfeld quick turns and maneuvers around an opposing team member to set up a shot.
Isaac Buckland dominates the tip off in his home game as a Nederland Panther basketball player.
Senior and team captain Indio Koonz brings the ball down court during the last home game of the season.
The seniors on the Nederland High School Boys' Basketball Team 2025-2026. Left to right: Lucas Olson, Liam Robertson, Leonardo Filippello, Drew Hertzfeld, Indio Koonz, Mason Ivey, and Isaac Buckland.
Leo Filippello was honored with his fellow seniors during Senior Night with family by his side.
Drew Hertzfeld celebrated Senior Night with his sister and parents.
Indio Koonz is recognized and honored on Senior Night by his coaches, family, and community.
NEDERLAND — Nederland High School's basketball teams ended their seasons on a high note with victories for the girls and boys teams in their last games of the season.
Girls' team
Nederland Girls' Basketball Head Coach Val Gane and senior Abbey Moore exchange a friendly conversation during the game.
Photo by Sara Sandstrom
The Panther girls' basketball team faced Two Roads Charter School on February 18. The Panther team wore silly socks that all matched and put ribbons in their hair to set the tone to "this will be a fun night."
The score remained tight throughout the game. Both teams had a number of turnovers. For the Panthers, their layups and jump shots went in consistently.
During a timeout, Head Coach Val Gane told the players, "If you want the win, then take it. I'm proud of you if you win or lose."
Senior Abbey Moore, playing her last game, replied: We want to win.
The Panthers kept the lead in the fourth quarter. When the final buzzer went off, they had won 41 - 37.
"Everyone stepped up," Gane said. "And Abbey, as usual, was full of energy and kept the tempo of the game to a fast pace."
Moore was honored for Senior Night, always the last home game of the season. The lone senior on the girls' basketball team, Moore was surrounded by family and loud cheers from the crowd.
She is a student at Chinook West in Nederland and joined the Nederland basketball team this year. She plays a tough defensive game and brought great energy and dedication to the team. Moore will be missed.
Next season, Gane is looking for a number of freshmen to join the team with new energy and talent. The team will focus on the basics and "fine tune our chemistry on the court."
The 2026-2027 season will be the third year for Nederland girls' basketball after not having a team for a few years. It is important to keep the momentum going, Gane said.
"We need good players to make a good team, and we're getting there."
This season was one of learning for players and as a team.
"I mentioned to the team more than once to have fun and play to your strengths, keep the energy up, steal the ball and go for layups, and get a rebound and drive the ball up fast," Gane said. "I feel as the season progressed, the team began to trust themselves. They always played hard, no matter what the score was."
Boys' varsity team
The Nederland boys' varsity team played their last home game against Two Roads from Arvada. The first minutes were a challenge for the Panthers. Then, Nederland's head coach Stephen LeFaiver challenged his team to get up by 10 points by half time.
They accepted that challenge and took it even further: At the half, they were up by 15 points.
In the second quarter of the game, some technical fouls were called on a couple of players from Two Roads. Two Roads did not return to the court after the half-time intermission, and they forfeited the game. The final score was 29 - 14.
Spirits were high for Senior Night. Despite the win, it was an unfortunate way to finish the last home game of the season.
Seven seniors from the boys' basketball team were honored for Senior Night: Lucas Olson, Liam Robertson, Leonardo Filippello, Mason Ivey, Drew Hertzfeld, Indio Koonz, and Isaac Buckland.
Five of these players have gone to school together in Nederland and played sports together for years. Two more came and were a wonderful addition to the team.
The team improved steadily throughout the season, winning their last three games.
"The last quarter of the season, they really trusted each other and moved the ball better and were better on offense. They began passing to open up shots for better shots that teammates had," Coach LeFaiver said. "The team really came together as the season progressed, and I wish we had a few more games to play."
The boys' team did have one more away game to play after the Senior Night win. With one second remaining, team captain Indio Koonz sunk the winning bucket against Aurora West. Co-captain Mason Ivey scored 21 points.
Ivey made Foothills All League and Koonz made Foothills All League Honorable Mention. The honors are voted by the other coaches in the Foothills League.
LeFaiver is very proud of this team: their hard work, discipline and sportsmanship that was obvious even to referees.
"I will really miss this team," he said.
Nederland Nordic skier Ben Weber was also honored for Senior Night. Weber has made multiple appearances at state competitions over his years on the ski team. His coach lauded Weber's talent, dedication, and physical and mental strength.
