The Palmer Ridge girls grew philosophical about what allowed them to maintain the high ground in Monument.

Needing to overcome a five-point deficit at crosstown rival Lewis-Palmer going into the fourth quarter, the Bears took care of that and a lot more in firing past the Rangers for a 50-39 victory on Friday night in front of a crowd that was standing-room only by the end.

“What we put into the universe is what’s going to come true, so I think we really started to dial that in,” said senior Corinna Arellano, who scored a game-high 16 points for the Bears as they won for the eighth time in the last nine meetings between the District-39 foes.

Lewis-Palmer’s Olivia Mohler scored nine of her team-high 13 points in the final minutes of the third quarter, staking the Rangers to a 32-27 advantage going to the final quarter.

Facing the deficit and the rowdy rival crowd, Palmer Ridge (12-3) was at its best. The ball consistently found its way into the lane for looks at the rim, the defense suffocated and nine out of 12 fourth-quarter free throws fell.

“I think we took advantage of some things that we saw and the girls executed it, really,” Bears coach Jason Boyer said. “Honestly, I just think they played more aggressive. It’s a rivalry game and I think everybody’s always a little tentative and nervous, but I just think we played with a little more fire in the second half.

“Probably the biggest crowd we’ll have all year. So just to have that pressure and be able to perform, that’s really valuable to us.”

The value was magnified by the challenges the Rangers consistently brought. Lewis-Palmer (8-6) went on a 6-0 run over the final 70 seconds of the first quarter despite sensational senior Rylee Edmondson taking a rare breather.

After Palmer Ridge tied the score with 4:49 remaining, Mohler hit her third 3-pointer of the game to put the Rangers back in front.

The Bears then finished the game on a 17-3 run.

Sophomore Lilli Hawkins, who readily admitted to have never seen an atmosphere like this, scored five of her nine points in an experience that was equally educational and affirming.

“I’ve got to be myself and be confident and play my game because that’s what brought me here,” Hawkins said when asked what she learned about herself. “So that’s what I’m going to keep doing.”

Sophomore Olivia Delich also scored 10 points for the Bears, who will host the Rangers on Feb. 10 and test the fate of the universe yet again.

“We knew this was going to be a tough game to overcome mentally,” Arellano said. “But a lot of us, our goal was to stick together, talk to each other, remind each other that we’re not here alone, we’re working as one to create one goal, which is to win.”