Longtime rivals Connie Char and Kiah Hicks seemed to create a team rivalry Friday night.

Hicks scored 13 points in the second half, but it was Char who provided the final answer, scoring six points in the final 75 seconds to lead host Cheyenne Mountain to a 46-39 victory over Falcon in a back-and-forth contest.

Indians coach Janie Mueller was so impressed with counterpart Angie Heldstab and the Falcons, that she thinks this is the start of a competitive series.

“It never was (a rivalry) until just now,” she said.

Char and Hicks — juniors who have been playing against each other since sixth grade — had a lot to do with that.

Char opened the fourth quarter with two free throws. Then Hicks scored five straight points, including converting a three-point play, to give the Falcons a 33-29 lead — their largest of the game — with 5 minutes left.

Mueller took a timeout to regroup, and the Indians responded. Janae Vander Ploeg, who had been quiet since the first quarter, scored six of her team’s nine points over the next 3 minutes to put Cheyenne Mountain back in front 38-35.

“I kind of just knew that I needed to be in the game more than I was,” Vander Ploeg said.

From there, Char took over. After Falcon’s Shelby Goniea tied the score at 39, Char took it strong to the basket for a layup and then hit 4-of-4 free throw attempts in the final 30 seconds to seal the victory.

“Connie really steps it up when we need her to,” Vander Ploeg said. “She kept our team together during the game.”

Fittingly, Char and Hicks both finished with 17 points.

Vander Ploeg had 12 and Amanda Webber eight for Cheyenne Mountain (10-2, 4-0 4A Metro).

Goniea, whose eight points in the first half kept the Falcons (8-4, 2-2) within striking distance, scored 12.Hicks was encouraged by the Falcons’ effort.

“It was an instense game,” she said. “The first few games, we played really flat. But this last one, we just stepped it up. We learned from past mistakes and every game we just keep getting better and better. We’re going to make a huge impact on this league.

“Everyone is going to remember who Falcon is.”

DeLovell Earls of Colorado Springs School Photo by KEVIN KRECK, THE GAZETTE