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One win is all that separates the Hayden girls basketball team from a trip to the 2005 Class 2A Girls State Tournament.

Hayden faces District 3 champion Nucla at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Grand Junction High School. The winner will be one of eight teams in the 2A tournament in Pueblo next weekend.

Nucla upset Dolores in the district finals to garner the top seed from District 3. Hayden (11-11 overall) finished runner-up to Grand Valley in District 5 on Saturday and is the second seed. It is an intriguing match-up for the Tigers.

"I haven't seen a game film of them yet, but I will," Hayden coach Jayme Adams said. "They have one senior guard who is definitely their best player, and everybody was telling me their posts are a lot like Aly (Boyd) and Jamie (Waugh)."

Much like Hayden, Nucla doesn't have a lot of height, but the Tigers may have more balance between their inside and perimeter players. Hayden will be playing for a trip to Pueblo on Saturday, which is more than enough motivation to be ready at the tip.

The Tigers' solid 32-minute effort against Meeker in Friday's District 5 semifinals is the reason they are playing for state this weekend.

Hayden lost to Meeker by 19 points in the final regular season game, playing with little desire. On Saturday, the intensity was back.

"We wanted it more," senior Kim Medvesk said.

No one played bigger down the stretch than Hayden's seniors, a group of girls who have waited four years for a season such as this one. The last time a Hayden girls basketball team advanced to regionals was 1998.

"This is, by far, our biggest win," Boyd said. "It's all we wanted."

The Tigers had four days to prepare for the Cowboys, and they used every minute of it, designing ways to beat Meeker's press and to limit its inside shots.

"We told them before the game it would be patience, communication and working hard on defense," Adams said.

The game's outcome also was determined by timely free-throw shooting. Medvesk made just one of her first five free throws in the fourth quarter before sinking three of her final four, including the game-winning shot with 13 seconds left.

Meeker senior Sam Stewart got a good look inside in the final seconds, but her shot didn't fall, and Waugh pulled down the rebound and didn't let go.

Boyd led all scorers with a game-high 18 points, including 12 in the second half. Bell added 12, and Medvesk had eight points.

"I could tell at the end of the first quarter we wanted it more than them," Adams said. "I could see it."

On Saturday, a tired Hayden squad couldn't contend with Grand Valley, the winner of the regular season and District 5 title. The Cardinals were without Jamie Vance and Wynette Jackson, two senior starters, but easily defeated the Tigers, 39-24.

The loss didn't matter because both teams were guaranteed a regional game for finishing in the top two at districts. On Saturday, two teams from the District 3/District 5 regional advance to state.

"Some of these girls have been dreaming about going to state since they were freshmen," Adams said. "If we play well on Saturday, we go to state."

Bell led Hayden with 11 points against Grand Valley. Boyd added 10. Waugh, one of the Tigers' primary post players and rebounders, went down with an ankle injury in the second quarter. She still has several days to recover before Saturdays' game against Nucla.