Two days after signing with the University of Colorado to play soccer, Amy Barczuk issued a reminder she is one of the state's top basketball players, too.

The Arapahoe senior guard scored 26 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had four steals Friday night in the fifth-ranked Warriors' 59-41 road win against Cherry Creek in a Class 5A Centennial League game.

Barczuk essentially lived at the free-throw line in a contest that featured enough whistles for about three games, nailing 18-of-22 free throws

"It was hard with all the fouls," Barczuk said. "It kind of disrupts the pace of the game and never lets you get into a flow. But it was good that we were hitting our free throws."

With the three-man officiating crew immediately establishing that the slightest contact would draw a whistle, the lethargic first half featured 26 fouls and 36 free throws. By the end, Arapahoe (16-2 overall, 9-1 league) had toed the line 40 times, making 29.

"I don't know about Creek, but I know it was hard for us because of the way we play," Arapahoe coach Ron Burgin said. "With the trapping defenses and all that, you can't run those when you can't touch somebody."

The Warriors won their 16th of 17 games after an opening loss to Heritage and will get sharpshooting senior Diana Hentschel back Wednesday. Hentschel (disciplinary reasons) has played only three games this season, averaging 16.7 points.

"I feel great," Burgin said. "We're relatively healthy, and having Diana back, it seems everything is falling into place."

Things never fell into place for Cherry Creek (10-9, 5-5), which remained within eight points until midway through the fourth quarter.

"I think it just comes down to playing smart," said Bruins forward Berit Eppard, who scored 10 points. "All the fouls were tough, but you have to adjust to that and play the game as the refs are calling it."

Arapahoe, which received 13 points from Becky Bowman and 10 rebounds from Amanda Wojahn, found the going much more comfortable than its 70- 65 home triumph against Cherry Creek on Jan 14. Barczuk also had 26 points in that one and shot 19 free throws, meaning she shot 41 foul shots, making 31, in two games against Creek.

"My free-throw game has been a little shaky lately," Bar- czuk said. "Good thing I hit them, because we won by 18 and I made 18 free throws."

Arapahoe11 22 8 18 - 59

Cherry Creek6 17 10 8 - 41

A - Alli Adkins 1 1-3 3, Heather Saurber 0 0-0 0, Amanda Wojahn 2 1-3 5, Amy Barczuk 4 18-22 26, Hanna Hoopingarner 4 0-0 8, Becky Bowman 3 5-8 13, Kelsey Avery 0 4-4 4. Totals 14 29-40 59.

CC - Haley Haddock 3 1-2 8, Charissa Standage 0 0-0 0, Shavonne White 2 2-4 7, Sami Springer 0 1-3 1, Berit Eppard 4 2-2 10, Kendall Scavarda 1 2-2 5, Megan Stark 0 5-6 5, Molly Dietrich 2 0-0 5, Melissa Haines 0 0-0 0, Lindsay Coons 0 0-0 0, Elsa Pranger 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 13-19 41.

Three-point goals - A, Bowman 2. CC, Haddock, Scavarda, White, Dietrich. Fouled out - Haddock, Eppard, Scavarda.