2A/1A LOWER PLATTE: Akron and Merino collide to determine the championship as both are unbeaten against conference foes.  Akron topped Merino 46-41 earlier this year in a non-league game that did not count in the Lower Platte standings.  Akron also goes to Holyoke on Thursday while Merino has a non-conference game with Briggsdale that same night.  Both sets of Rams are among the contenders for a state championship in their respective class and each wants to enter the district tournament with momentum from a high quality win.  Caliche is locked into third place as they trail the two leaders by two games.  They close the league schedule at Haxtun on Friday before facing Pawnee on Saturday in what could be a preview of a very important district game next weekend.

2A/1A WESTERN SLOPE: Paonia took over first place by beating Meeker last Friday and they’re now in complete control of the race.  The Eagles go to Plateau Valley Friday and host Rangely this Saturday and a win in either game gives the 2^nd ranked team in Class 2A the conference title.  Meeker and Rangely also collide on Friday with the outcome helping to decide second place.  Rangely can actually get to second place if they beat both Meeker and Rangely.  Hayden, Soroco, and West Grand are locked into seeds fourth through the six for the 2A district tournament.  For Class 1A, Vail Christian has secured the top seed from the conference for district play with North Park second and Plateau Valley third.  Vail Christian meets Ouray in the first round of districts with North Park facing Nucla and Plateau Valley challenging Dove Creek.

2A/1A UNION PACIFIC: Limon’s win over Burlington last week puts the Badgers in control of the league chase. Right now the Badgers and Cougars are tied for the conference lead but Limon takes the championship if they beat Byers because of their head-to-head win over Burlington.  The Badgers lone league loss came against Deer Trail.  Flagler and Deer Trail both sit at 3-2 in the race for the top 1A district seed from the league but the Panthers will earn the nod if they beat Genoa Hugo on Friday since they beat Deer Trail in conference play early last week.

2A SANTA FE: Las Animas officially clinched the championship with their win over Fowler on Tuesday as the Trojans went through the conference schedule at 13-1.  They close the regular season with a non-league date against a very good Wiley squad on Friday.  It’s a great final test for both teams.  Swink sits in second place but needs to win at least two of three games this week to secure the position.  The Lions played Crowley County on Tuesday but we don’t have a result from the contest.  They also face Rocky Ford Thursday and Hoehne on Saturday and both are league contests.  Rye is in third place and has lost twice to Swink so they won’t be able to catch them unless they get help from others.  The Thunderbolts also lead Hoehne by just one game in the race for third.  Rye won the first game 42-33 with the rematch set for Friday.  Hoehne can finish no lower than fourth.

2A BLACK FOREST: Vanguard has a one game lead on Evangelical Christian in the league race and the teams will meet up on Friday to determine the championship.  The game will also have a direct bearing on the District Eight standings and which team gets the number one playoff seed.  Peyton and Calhan are tied for third place in league play with two league losses but Peyton has the advantage based on their 61-53 win on January 21^st.

2A SOUTHERN PEAKS: Sanford and Sangre De Cristo enter the final weekend with identical 8-0 league marks so their highly anticipated contest on Friday will determine the league championship and the number one overall district seed.  Sangre De Cristo has won eight in a row since a six point loss to Sierra Grande and barely stayed unbeaten in league play with a one point win over La Veta last Saturday.  Sanford is coming off a good 45-44 non-conference win over 3A Centauri and also has a rematch with 3A Pagosa Springs on Saturday so it’s a good closing weekend for the defending state champions.  They lost at Pagosa Springs 34-29 in the first meeting.  Del Norte is in good shape for third place but fourth place Custer County needs at least one win in their final two games to hold off La Veta for fourth.  The Bobcats and Redskins play in Westcliffe on Friday and Custer County also goes to Sargent on Saturday.

2A MILE HIGH: Denver Christian has a one game edge on Resurrection Christian atop the standings.  The two meet for a second time on Thursday.  Denver Christian won the first meeting 47-44.  Both teams will face Lutheran in district tournament action which drops in after competing very well in the 3A Metro.  Resurrection Christian has won three straight since the first loss to Denver Christian.  They also face Alexander Dawson on Thursday.  Denver Christian closes their regular season with the Resurrection Christian contest.

2A/1A SAN JUAN: Norwood has clinched the championship overall and will be the number one seed for the District One tournament which opens next Thursday.  The Mavericks beat Telluride on Tuesday and should pick up two more easy wins at Ouray on Friday and Mancos on Saturday.  They get a first round bye in districts meaning they just need three wins to earn a return visit to the state tournament.  Dove Creek is the second 1A seed from the conference with Nucla earning the third seed.  In Class 2A, Ridgway is in great shape for the #1 seed and Mancos is likely the fifth seed for the district tournament but Telluride, Dolores and Ignacio could end up in a three way tie for second which will result in a complicated tiebreaker format to determine seeding.

1A BLACK FOREST: Simla has beaten Elbert twice so the Cubs are again the conference champions and will have the #1 seed for next week’s district tournament.  They have a nice test at Hi Plains on Friday in their season finale.  Elbert will be the #2 seed with Edison and Pikes Peak Christian battling for third and fourth.  They’ve split two games this year but Edison has a slight advantage in scheduling.  They have one remaining league game at Hanover on Friday while Pikes Peak Christian must face second place Elbert that same night.

1A NORTH CENTRAL: Pawnee went through the league slate unbeaten and head into the post-season as the conference champions.  The Coyotes have two non-league game this weekend as they try to finish up a perfect regular season.  Up first is a home game with Union Colony Prep on Friday before they venture to Caliche Saturday night.  That game is very important to regional seeding if both teams advance out of districts as expected.  Briggsdale is locked into second regardless of how they fare in their final league game at Prairie on Friday but they also have an important test with Merino on Thursday.  That game could also be used for regional seeding in a couple of weeks.  Peetz and Fleming are battling for third.  Peetz won the first game (44-43) and visit the Wildcats for the rematch on Friday.  Fleming also faces Prairie on Thursday and must win both to reach third place.

1A HIGH PLAINS: There’s still the possibility of a three way tie for the conference title.  Kit Carson currently holds down the top spot in league play and the number one seed for districts but Eads but the three-team logjam in first occurs if Eads beats Cheyenne Wells and McClave upsets Kit Carson.  Kit Carson of course locks down the top spot with a win and that means Eads will be second and McClave third regardless of any other outcome.

1A ARK VALLEY: Wiley’s win over Springfield last week clinched the championship and then Wiley used a win over Kim the next day to wrap up the top seed for districts.  Those three teams are expected to advance from districts next week.  Wiley has a difficult closing weekend with games against McClave (Thursday) and 2A Las Animas (Fri).  It will help get them ready for the post-season push which they hope will end up with another visit to the state tournament.

1A YWKC: The key game is on Friday when Otis meets Woodlin.  Otis (4-0) leads the conference by one game over Woodlin and Hi Plains so a win over the Mustangs clinches the championship.  Woodlin picked up a win over Bethune on Tuesday and should they upset Otis on Friday, then the two would likely end up in a three way tie with Hi Plains who has concluded their league slate at 5-1.  If Otis loses to Woodlin, they would then need to beat Bethune the next night to keep their piece of first place.  Two losses drop them to third.

1A SOUTHERN PEAKS:  Sierra Grande has clinched the top seed for the league and districts.  Mountain Valley has beaten Centennial twice so they have the edge for second with Centennial the number three seed.  No other team is above five hundred for the season so the three teams mentioned will likely advance to the regional tournament as well.

1A 5280: Belleview Christian has easily handled Gilpin County and Jim Elliot so the Bruins have wrapped up the league championship.  They get a final regular season test with a long road trip to Kim on Friday.  Gilpin County, Jim Elliot and Community Christian will be seeded second through fourth.

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SEEDING NOTES

1A DISTRICT ONE: Matchups are already set with Norwood earning a first round bye and they will face either North Park or Nucla in the semi-finals.  In the bottom half of the quarterfinals, Dove Creek faces Plateau Valley and Vail Christian meets Ouray

1A DISTRICT TWO: The top three spots won’t be determined until we know the result between McClave and Kit Carson on Friday.  Kit Carson is the #1 seed with a win and that would leave Eads #2 and McClave #3.  That’s providing Eads also beats Cheyenne Wells as expected.  If McClave and Eads win, then there’s a three way tie for the top spot with Cheyenne Wells #4 and Granada #5.

1A DISTRICT THREE: Wiley is unbeaten against district opponents and is the #1 seed with Springfield at #2 and Kim in the third spot.  It appears Holly is the fourth seed and could face Wiley in the semi-final round.

1A DISTRICT FOUR: Pawnee gets the #1 seed with Briggsdale at #2 as the top two teams from the North Central.  As 1A Lower Platte champion Merino will be slotted into the third seed with the winner between Peetz and Fleming this Friday grabbing the fourth seed.  Caliche is the fifth seed as the #2 1A team from the Lower Platte.

1A DISTRICT FIVE: One game on Friday and possibly a second on Saturday will determine the top three spots.  Otis gets the #1 spot by beating Woodlin on Friday and if that happens, then Hi Plains is #2, Woodlin #3 and Idalia fourth.  Should Woodlin win on Friday, Otis would then need to beat Bethune on Saturday to create a three way tie for first and then a tiebreaker would be needed.  If Otis loses twice, then Hi Plains is #1, Woodlin #2 and Otis ends up third.

1A DISTRICT SIX: The top three seeds are set with Sierra Grande the top seed followed by Mountain Valley and Centennial.

1A DISTRICT SEVEN: This district is a combination of the Union Pacific and Black Forest conferences.  Simla and Elbert are the top two seeds from the Black Forest and will be opposite in the bracket.  Flagler clinches the top spot from the Union Pacific by beating Genoa Hugo.  If that happens Deer Trail is the #2 seed and the Panthers and Eagles are also opposite the bracket.

1A DISTRICT EIGHT: The top four seeds are set with Belleview Christian #1, Gilpin County #2, Jim Elliot #3 and Community Christian #4

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2A DISTRICT ONE: The top two seeds will be determined by the result of Sanford and Sangre De Cristo on Friday.  The winner is #1 with the loser falling to #2.  Del Norte is in good shape for third place with Custer County having the nod for fourth although Sargent is in the mix as well.

2A DISTRICT TWO: Akron is the number one seed and Yuma has locked up the number two seed.  Burlington has a better record than the next best team from the Lower Platte so the Cougars come in from the Union Pacific as the number three seed.  Wray and Sedgwick County are still battling for the fourth seed with Holyoke also in the running for fifth place.  Wiggins will be the number seven seed.

2A DISTRICT THREE: As mentioned in the San Juan standings, there’s still plenty of seeding to sort out.  It appears Ridgway is safe at number one and Mancos will be the fifth seed but the remaining three teams could end up in a three way tie for second through fourth.

2A DISTRICT FOUR: Not sure at this point how Lutheran is handled in the seeding process as they move in from the 3A Metro to compete in the 2A post-season.  They along with Denver Christian will be the first and second seed but we’re not sure in what order at this point.  Front Range Christian is the third seed with Nederland number four.

2A DISTRICT FIVE: Paonia has nailed down the top district seed and Meeker and Rangely will be second and third with games this weekend determining that order.  Hayden is the fourth seed with Soroco fifth and West Grand sixth.

2A DISTRICT SIX: This is simply a rundown of the Santa Fe league standings so Las Animas is the number one seed and Swink the #2 seed if they win two of their three games this week.  They have beaten third place Rye twice during conference play so they will win any tiebreakers against the Thunderbolts.  Rye and Hoehne will be third and fourth but their game on Friday will determine the order.

2A DISTRICT SEVEN: Resurrection Christian is the easy number one seed in this district as they’re the only team above .500 for the season.  Dayspring Christian beat Longmont Christian twice during the regular season so we believe the Eagles are the #2 seed with Longmont Christian #3.

2A DISTRICT EIGHT: Going to the weekend, Vanguard (8-0) has a one game edge on Evangelical Christian (6-1) for the top spot.  Those two teams meet on Friday with the winner having the edge for the top seed.  Vanguard in fact can fall no lower than second.  Should Vanguard repeat their earlier win over the Eagles, then ECA falls into a second place tie with Peyton and Calhan and a tiebreaker would be needed to determine the final order.  Other games will factor into the picture as Peyton meets Colorado Springs on Friday and Calhan plays Fountain Valley that same night.  ECA must also deal with Limon on Saturday.  The Badgers are battling Colorado Springs for the fifth and sixth positions.

CLASS 5A

CENTENNIAL: The Centennial chase will be decided on Monday night as Grandview faces Arapahoe.  Those two are one-two in the standings and separated by just one game.  The separating game was the first meeting between the two with Grandview scoring a 50-39 victory.  Cherry Creek seems to be locked into third place.  They trail Arapahoe by two games but have three games remaining this week but since they lost both games to the Warriors the only way the Bruins can move up is to win their final three and have Arapahoe lose their final three.

CITY: Denver East has won nine straight and leads the division by one game over Thomas Jefferson.  They’ve already beaten the Spartans head-to-head so they’ve clinched the championship.  East has one league game remaining against Denver West on Friday and they’ll be heavily favored to extend their winning streak to double digits.  Thomas Jefferson has three league contests remaining against Lincoln, Denver South and Denver North.  The key game is against South as a win there will lock up second place for the Spartans.  They collide on Thursday.

CONTINENTAL: Highlands Ranch leads Regis by one game in the championship race and can clinch the crown by beating either Chaparral on Tuesday or Mountain Vista on Thursday.  Only losses in both could prevent the Falcons from not winning the title.  Regis has already clinched second as they have a two game lead on three teams tied for third place.  That’s where the race gets interesting with Rock Canyon, Heritage and ThunderRidge all at 6-3.  Two of the teams square off Thursday as Heritage hosts Rock Canyon.  Should Rock Canyon win that game and also beat Douglas County on Tuesday, they would earn third place because they beat ThunderRidge earlier in the season.  Should Heritage beat Rock Canyon, that gives ThunderRidge the inside the track for the third spot since they knocked off the Eagles in their conference clash.  Finishing as high as possible in this league is very important as it will provide a team with a very good state tournament seed.

COLORADO SPRINGS METRO: Palmer and Doherty split two hotly contested ballgames this year but have dominated all other league opponents so it appears they will end up sharing the top trophy.  The two have a whopping four game lead on third place where Pine Creek and Rampart share the spot at just 3-5.  Rampart has beaten Pine Creek twice so they have the edge in any tiebreaker.  Rampart meets Palmer on Wednesday and Fountain Fort Carson on Friday while Pine Creek goes to Liberty on Tuesday before heading to Doherty on Friday.

EAST METRO: Rangeview and Prairie View are both unbeaten in league play and of course share the conference lead.  The teams meet up on Thursday to determine the championship.  The game is part of a three game week for both squads.  Rangeview, which has won 14 in a row, meets Brighton Monday and Gateway Tuesday ahead of the showdown while Prairie View tangles with Skyview on Tuesday and then wraps up the season against Fort Lupton on Friday.

FRONT RANGE: Monarch and Legacy share the lead with the Coyotes holding the slight edge because of a head-to-head win over the Lightning in January but that advantage can be cancelled out if Legacy wins the rematch set for Friday.  Both teams also have other games with Monarch going to Boulder on Tuesday and Legacy facing Fairview tonight (Monday) and Mountain Range on Tuesday.  Should both teams win those games as expected; then Friday’s game sets up as a winner take all for the title.  Horizon, Fairview and Fort Collins all share third place with five losses apiece.  That three-way jam will be broken a bit on Tuesday when Horizon and Fairview collide.  Fairview must also play Legacy as mentioned on Monday so they have a much tougher schedule than the other two teams.  Fort Collins has a non-league date with ThunderRidge on Monday and then wraps up the league slate at Greeley West (Tues) and Poudre (Fri).

JEFFCO: Ralston Valley opens the week with a two game advantage over Arvada West and is scheduled to face the Wildcats on Friday.  If the Mustangs beat Dakota Ridge on Tuesday, the Friday game then is meaningless of the championship chase.  Arvada West can finish no lower than second as they have a three game lead on Lakewood and Dakota Ridge.  Lakewood beat Dakota Ridge 43-39 last Friday to create a two way tie for third.  Lakewood closes with Bear Creek on Friday and should get past the struggling Bears so they have the advantage for third since Dakota Ridge has a game remaining with the league leaders.

SOUTHWEST: Grand Junction has won 11 straight games and opens the final week with a one game edge on 4A Montrose.  The Tigers downed Montrose 54-40 in their first meeting with round two slated for Tuesday night.  A win by Grand Junction gives them the championship.  Montrose also visits Fruita Monument on Friday so even with a win over Grand Junction; they must still get by a very good Wildcats club before celebrating their piece of the conference crown.  Fruita can actually tie for second place with two wins if Grand Junction beats Montrose.

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CLASS 4A

COLORADO SPRINGS METRO: Air Academy has used their 11-game winning streak to earn a one game edge on Sand Creek.  The Kadets square off against the Scorpions on Tuesday and a win there gives Air Academy their expected conference crown.  Sand Creek of course can move into the top spot if they upset the top ranked team in 4A.  Should Air Academy post the win, then the race gets very interesting as several teams are in contention for spots two through six.  With a loss to Air Academy, Sand Creek would fall into a second place tie with the winner between Palmer Ridge and Cheyenne Mountain.  Those two currently share third but they also meet up on Tuesday.  Sand Creek is hoping for a Palmer Ridge win since they beat the Bears and thus own the tiebreaker.  The Scorpions though lost to Cheyenne Mountain and could tumble to third if Cheyenne Mountain grabs the win.  Another key game is set for Monday night as Mesa Ridge tangles with Falcon.  Those are battling for fifth and sixth but in the case of Mesa Ridge, the Grizzlies are only one game out of third.

JEFFCO: The regular season wrapped up last Wednesday with D’Evelyn gaining the title with their win over Valor Christian.  Now the top eight teams are competing in the post-season league tournament which continues Monday night with the conference quarterfinals.  The top seeded Jaguars will entertain Green Mountain with #2 seed Valor Christian at home against Conifer.  Golden also heads to #3 Elizabeth and the fourth seeded Evergreen Cougars take on Wheat Ridge.  Winners advance to the semi-finals on Wednesday with the losers falling into the consolation bracket.  The finals are set for Friday night.

NORTHERN: The top of the standings changed quite a bit with results from last week.  Last Monday, Centaurus had a one game edge on Broomfield with Silver Creek in third two games back.  Centaurus though lost to Silver Creek and then was upset by Mountain View so they enter this week one game back of Broomfield who picked up a pair of victories including over Silver Creek.  Centaurus can still win the championship by winning at Broomfield on Tuesday but it took the Warriors two overtimes at home to upset the five-time defending state champions and winning on the road may be even more difficult.  Tuesday’s winner though will be the conference champion.  Should Broomfield win, then Centaurus falls into second while Silver Creek can seal up third place by beating Mountain View on Tuesday.

SOUTH CENTRAL: Pueblo South beat Pueblo West (50-33) for a second time last week and with the win earned the league championship.  Pueblo West has clinched second place but still remains a challenger to the state championships as they’ve lost to only Pueblo South (twice) and Air Academy.  Canon City trails Pueblo County by one game in the race for third but they’ve beaten the Hornets twice and will likely catch them this week.  Canon City finishes with Pueblo West but County has to play both South and West.  If the teams lose all three games as expected, then Canon City earns third because of the season sweep of County.

TRI-VALLEY: Roosevelt has wrapped up the championship but wants to keep winning to improve their seed in the state tournament bracket.  They meet Skyline and Frederick this week.  Windsor is locked into second place but is in the same situation as Roosevelt concerning the playoffs.  The Wizards face Frederick on Tuesday and Northridge on Thursday.  Erie is in good shape for third since they’ve beaten Skyline twice.  They need to beat either Fort Morgan or Sterling to wrap up the spot but losses in both could drop them into a three way tie with Skyline and Frederick.

WESTERN SLOPE: The race comes down to Tuesday’s game between Glenwood Springs and Moffat County.  The Demons clinch the championship with a win but if Moffat County scores the win, those two will be tied with Delta for a top spot and a repeat of last year’s three-way tie for the championship is very likely.  Glenwood took over sole possession of first with their win at Delta last Friday.  They’ve won six in a row.  Moffat County has matched that winning streak and a seventh in a row gives them a share of the title.

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CLASS 3A

FRONTIER: Denver Science leads the conference but still needs one more win before celebrating the regular season title.  The Knights should easily get that win on Monday at Bruce Randolph and they also face Platte Canyon on Tuesday.  They should get two lopsided wins to finish off the conference slate unbeaten.  Pinnacle finishes up with Platte Canyon on Tuesday but the Wolves have already secured second place.  Middle Park’s season is complete so they’ll be the third seed for the district tournament.  Clear Creek will end up fourth while the winner between Bennett and Sheridan Tuesday night will grab fifth place.

INTERMOUNTAIN: Bayfield leads Centauri by one game but since they split with the Falcons, the Wolverines must still get by Monte Vista on Thursday to win the championship.  Should they stumble there, Centauri can gain a share of the crown if they beat Alamosa.  If Bayfield wins, Centauri must still beat Alamosa to clinch second.  Pagosa Springs has finished their conference schedule and cannot fall lower than third but gets a piece of second if Centauri is upset.

METRO: There is little suspense here as the top five positions have already been determined.  Machebeuf is the conference champion and Holy Family will finish second.  Faith Christian is the third place team with 2A Lutheran picking up fourth place.   Fifth place will go to Peak to Peak.

PATRIOT: Eaton beat Brush last Monday to secure the championship.  Brush recovered nicely to post three wins last week over Valley, University and Estes Park to wrap up second place.  Eaton finishes at Platte Valley on Tuesday while Brush is home to Strasburg the same night for their season finale.  Valley sits in third place but with just a one game lead on University, Berthoud and Estes Park the Vikings need to beat Weld Central to stay there.  University and Berthoud play Tuesday night which will help break up the crowded race for fourth.  Since Berthoud beat Estes Park, a win over University should give them the fourth spot.  Estes Park closes with Mead and the Bobcats get to fourth with a win and a University victory over Berthoud.

TRI PEAKS EAST: Trinidad finished off a perfect 19-0 regular season with their second win over St Mary’s on Saturday.  The final was 46-36 and gave the Miners the division championship.  Despite the loss, St Mary’s has clinched second.  Lamar leads James Irwin in the race for third and won the first meeting between the two.  The rematch is Monday night so with a win, Lamar grabs third place but with a James Irwin victory, the two will share the spot.  James Irwin also faces St Mary’s on Tuesday so two losses could drop them into a fourth place tie with Ellicott who close out with La Junta on Tuesday.  The Thunderhawks won the first meeting 49-41.

TRI PEAKS WEST: Manitou Springs has a whopping three game lead so they locked up the championship early last week.  Florence (6-3) leads Buena Vista (5-4) by one game in the race for second but since Florence won the two games with the Demons, they’ve already wrapped up second and will get a bye into the district quarterfinals.  Buena Vista, which hosts Salida, has clinched third place but will still be forced to take part in a play-in game on Saturday.

WESTERN SLOPE: Olathe leads Rifle by one game and Roaring Fork by two.  The Pirates host Hotchkiss on Tuesday and Gunnison on Thursday and a win in either gives them the league championship.  They moved past both opponents by at least 22 points in the first meetings.  Rifle and Roaring Fork play on Saturday to help decide second and third.  Rifle won the first contest 49-30.  Roaring Fork has won six in a row and cannot finish lower than third.  They also face Coal Ridge on Friday and wins in both will give them a share of second.  Coal Ridge leads Grand Valley by one game in the race for fourth but the Titans will finish there regardless of the outcome against Roaring Fork since they beat Grand Valley twice during the conference schedule.  Grand Valley should get by Cedaredge on Saturday and if so, they’ll end up fifth.  If they’re upset, Aspen gets to fifth with wins over Basalt and Rifle.

The complete schedule can be seen on our sister website at www.coloradoscores.com and final scores will be posted there as well. Results can be sent to Colorado Preps by email to kevin@coloradopreps.com, by text to 970.380.7737 or by toll free phone call to 866.534.6257

CLASS 5A

The most important game finds Grandview at home against Arapahoe.  The Wolves lead the Warriors by one game in the Centennial standings and if they pull off the season sweep they will clinch the Centennial league championship.  Up in the Front Range, Legacy is looking forward to a rematch with Monarch on Friday but first must deal with a very good Fairview club tonight.  Doherty and ThunderRidge also face non-conference games with Mitchell and Fort Collins but would like wins to improve their post-season seed.

CLASS 4A

The Jeffco League quarterfinals are set for tonight with D’Evelyn and Valor Christian as the top two seeds.  The Jaguars topped Valor Christian last week to earn the top overall seed but if both teams win tonight and Wednesday, the rematch will be for the post-season championship on Friday.  D’Evelyn meets Green Mountain while Valor Christian entertains Conifer.  Golden also heads to Elizabeth and Wheat Ridge faces Evergreen.

CLASS 3A

Only three games are on the schedule with the most important involving the Tri Peaks East battle between James Irwin and Lamar.  The Savages need a win to clinch third place behind Trinidad and St Mary’s in the division.  A James Irwin win creates a tie for third.  Lamar won the first game 49-41.

CLASS 2A

There’s a huge matchup inside District Eight where Peyton visits Evangelical Christian.  Both teams are ranked in the top ten this week and each is trying to nail down the number two seed for the district tournament.  Peyton is 6-1 in district play with ECA right with them at 5-1.  Vanguard (8-0) is alone in first but also faces Evangelical Christian on Friday so there’s a lot of basketball to be played before the pairings can be drawn up.  In the East, Burlington meets Holyoke in a game that could serve as a preview of a district quarterfinal game.  Burlington is currently seeded 3^rd in District Two with Holyoke checking in at number six.

Peyton shot into the top ten last week after beating Rye, Miami Yoder and Byers last week.  They had also a nice win over Calhan the week before and since the Bulldogs then topped Evangelical Christian to earn a spot in the top ten, we also had to make room for Peyton.  The wins also kept Peyton tied for first in the District Eight race with Vanguard and their Saturday matchup could determine the outright leader provided the Panthers get by Evangelical Christian the night before.

With a freshman and three sophomores in the starting lineup, Peyton’s success this year may by a year or two ahead of schedule.  First year high schooler Victoria Goodman leads a guard oriented attack that has nailed 80 three-pointers on the season.  Goodman leads the team with 44 treys overall and nearly 14 points a game.  Sophomores Shelby Patterson (10.4) is the second leading scorer and has been in double figures in the last five games including a season best 18 in the important win over Calhan.  Sophomores Robyn Barrett (7.2) and Aleah Heredia (6.0) also provide scoring depth with Heredia also leading the team in rebounds (9.3).  Senior Isabel Rocha (6.5) rounds out the starting lineup and serves as a calming influence on the youngsters.

Peyton begins the weekend tied with Vanguard (both 4-0) atop the District Eight standings.  Evangelical Christian, Limon, Calhan and Colorado Springs all have just one loss so six teams are within one game of the lead entering the final three weeks of play.

First up for Peyton is a Friday date with Evangelical Christian.  The Eagles, who finished second to Sanford in the state tournament a year ago, recorded a very nice win over 3A Florence last Friday (38-37) but then fell to Calhan (53-42) the next night for their first district loss.  Calhan played very well in posting the win but Evangelical Christian was playing without leading scorer Heidi Mann who was out of town on a recruiting trip for another sport.  She averages nearly 14 points and five assists offensively but is also very important to the Eagles full court pressure with her eight steals a game.  Mann’s expected back on the floor this weekend and hopes to keep the Eagles close to or at the top of the district standings.

In Mann’s absence, Abby Dorman led the Eagles with 13 points in both games and added ten rebounds against Florence.  Tori Mann put in ten points against Calhan but despite those efforts, the team struggled from the field hitting just 13 of 52 shots overall and only four of 20 from three-point range.

Vanguard has rolled to 11 straight wins since a 1-2 start on the list of victims are district opponents Byers, Limon, Fountain Valley and Kiowa.  The Coursers have already beaten Calhan and Evangelical Christian once this year but those games do not count for district seeding and the rematches will be held here in February.  It’s part of a difficult five game stretch for Vanguard that starts on Saturday against Peyton.

Bailey Haist is the leader for Vanguard on both ends of the court with nearly 17 points and five steals per game.  The junior has knocked in 35 three-pointers on the season and has scored at least ten points in every game.  Haist dropped in 14 in the impressive win over ECA and then added 19 a week later in the Limon victory.  She’s coming off a 19 point effort in the district win over Kiowa last week.  Helping Haist is Cassandra Sulski with 11 points a game.  She had a season best 23 against Kiowa.

Before Vanguard can focus on Peyton, the Coursers must deal with an improving Colorado Springs squad Friday night.  The Kodiaks (8-6) suffered through a four game skid at mid-season but has responded by beating Miami Yoder, Byers and Fountain Valley.  They continue to get outstanding play from Italian import Letizia Degradi who scores 21 points a game.  Included in her first Colorado season is a 42 point effort against Miami Yoder.  She finished December with five straight games of at least 20 points and then added a sixth in the January opener versus Calhan.

Calhan’s loss to Peyton dropped them into a four way tie for third place in the district standings.  One of those teams will fall off the pace on Saturday when the Bulldogs meet Limon.  The Badgers (9-4) need a win over a quality opponent to get them pointed back in the right direction.  After a 9-1 start, they’ve dropped three straight to Vanguard, Deer Trail and Simla.  Add an early season setback to Merino and Limon has dropped four games to opponents currently ranked in the top six of their respective class.  Even if they don’t get by Calhan on Saturday, they’ll have plenty of chances to post that quality win with games remaining against Burlington, Peyton and ECA before season’s end.

In the win over Evangelical Christian, Calhan picked up a team high 15 points from Erin Renzleman.  Corynne Notz added 12 points and 17 rebounds including six on the offensive end. Morgan Helton (7), Jessica Coleman (6), Kalie Fischer (6)  and Sabrinna Notz (5) provided depth in the scoring column.  Balanced scoring and the use of up to 11 players has been the key to the Bulldogs success this year and they hope to ride that depth to a district crown.

Another game of note involving a District Eight team is on Saturday when Evangelical Christian meets Denver Christian.  It’s a non-conference game but Denver Christian is shooting for a win to finally earn a berth in the Colorado Preps top ten.  They’re 13-2 on the season but a lackluster schedule has held them out of the rankings.  That can change with a win on Saturday.  DC has won four in a row since a 24 point loss to Legend.  Their other loss is against Lutheran.  The Crusaders best win is against Resurrection Christian (47-44) as  Jerika Schmitt and Merissa Prentiss combined for 29 points and 22 rebounds.  Those two are the only players averaging more than five points a game on the season for the Crusaders.

Lutheran continues their rugged scheduled dominated by 3A Metro league opponents.  On Thursday, they challenge new number one Machebeuf (3A) with hopes of staying in the league championship race.  The Lions have already lost to Holy Family and Faith Christian so a third loss to Machebeuf would knock them out of the title picture.  Defensively, Lutheran will focus on the tandem of Rebecca Howell (14 points / 11 rebounds) and Aisha May (14 points).  Those two helped the Buffs upset Holy Family (45-35) last week; a win that pushed the Buffs to the top of the Metro standings and the 3A state rankings.

Regardless of how Lutheran fares on Thursday or in conference play, their rugged schedule should have them primed and ready for a deep post-season push in Class 2A.  They’re shooting for the double-double in Fall and Winter sports as the school also captured the 2A state volleyball championship last November.  They’re coming off an easy 64-15 win over Englewood where they led 43-0 at halftime.

5^th ranked Sanford (5-0) and Sangre De Cristo (4-0) sit atop the Southern Peaks standings with Sargent (4-1) and Del Norte (3-1) very much in the mix.  Those four teams hook up this weekend to help determine the seeding order for their district tournament.  Sanford entertains Sargent on Saturday while Del Norte and Sangre De Cristo tangle the night before.

Since they’ve already beaten Del Norte, Sanford should lock up at least top two seed by beating Sargent.  They don’t play Sangre De Cristo until February 17^th but if the Indians and T-Birds get through this weekend with a league loss, that game should decide the conference championship.  Sanford is getting nearly 12 points a game from Tori Mortensen and ten from Kelli Canty.  They combined for 16 points in Tuesday’s win over La Veta.  Amber Edgar also added eight.

Sargent, which lost to Sangre De Cristo 40-24, last Friday needs a win to stay among the league contenders.  Emily Pfannenstiel is their leading scorer with nearly 13 a night.  Her season best effort of 19 came in wins over Monte Vista and La Veta.

Sangre De Cristo picked up 12 points from Kathryn New and 11 from Jessica Gilmore in the crucial league win over Sargent.  The victory was the third in the T-Birds current four game winning streak.  New (15.0) is the leading scorer on the season with Taylor Beiriger next in line with 11.  Beiriger’s season high is 18 recorded in wins over Center and Creede and she’s coming off a 15 point night last Saturday against Custer County.

Del Norte has won five since the seven point loss to Sanford and eight of nine overall.  Defense is a key to their success as they’re giving up only 29 points a game while scoring nearly 53 on the other end.  The Tigers have allowed more than 50 points only twice all season and both games resulted in losses to 3A opponents Centauri (55) and Lamar (52).  The Tigers picked up a quality non-conference win over 3A Monte Vista 53-31 Tuesday night behind 14 points from Lindsay Mosby and 12 from Kassidy Jones.  Mosby (10.8) and Molly McPartland (10.4) are the top scorers for the season.  McPartland has been over 20 points twice with 21 against both Rocky Ford and Fowler.

3^rd ranked Las Animas has a one game lead on Swink and a two game edge on third place Rye.  Since they play the Thunderbolts Thursday night and Swink next Friday, the next eight days will determine the league championship fate.  They’re already beaten both teams in the first round of league play and will be favored in the rematches as well.

In the first meeting with Rye, Las Animas won the first and third quarters by a combined 25-14 score and those minutes turned out to be the difference in the game.  Another key stat was the free throw line where Las Animas attempted twice as many free throws (30-15) and outscored Rye by 14 points from that spot.

Haley Martinez took 17 shots in the win and hit only five but still managed 20 points as she connected on eight of 13 free throws.  Caitlin Johnson tossed in a season high 21 points in the win and was seven of 11 from the foul line.  She also hauled in nine rebounds in what may have been her best game of the season.

Martinez and Johnson are the only two double figure scorers for Las Animas and they’ve been the leaders most of the season but lately the Trojans have been getting offense from other sources.  The Trojans topped Rocky Ford (45-28) despite getting only 10 combined points from Martinez and Johnson.  Kelsey Thaxton led the way with a dozen.  Kalya Snead also put in 15 in a recent win over Fowler while Grace Miller dropped in 14 against Hoehne.

Other than senior standout Danica Shipley, the Thunderbolts are a young team and with that comes inconsistent play.  They’ve gone 4-3 over their last seven games but remain in contention for at least a top two finish in the league standings.  The T-Bolts are just one game behind second place Swink.  They enter Thursday’s contest riding a two game winning streak.

Shipley features one of the top all-around games in the state with 15 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and nearly two blocks.  She scored 28 points in last Tuesday’s loss to Peyton and has been in double figures in all but two games.  Shipley totaled 15 points in game one against Las Animas with sophomore Kaylee Rahl chipping in 13.  Combined the two hit just 11 of 31 shots and both tossed in a three-pointer.

Top ranked Akron looks to stay unbeaten at home against Wray on Friday.  The Rams blitzed Holyoke and Sedgwick County by a combined 67 points last week and also recorded a 59-47 road win at Wray in the first meeting.  They outscored the Eagles by three points in every quarter as they slowly pulled away throughout the contest.  Allyson Vasquez and Sidney Merrill each scored 15 in the win with Vasquez hitting a pair of treys.

Wray picked up 16 points from Jessica Schneider in the first game with Brittany Bard adding nine.  The loss was just another in a long list of good but not good enough efforts for the Eagles.  On the season, the Eagles have lost to Merino, Burlington, Sedgwick County, Caliche, Akron and Yuma with none of those setbacks by more than 13 points. Four of their nine losses against a quality schedule are by five points or less.

2^nd ranked Paonia has home games with West Grand (Friday) and Hayden (Saturday) this weekend.  The Eagles have won seven straight since a three point loss to 8^th ranked Delta (4A).  Of the two opponents on this week’s schedule, the more difficult is Hayden (9-4).  The Tigers were upset at home by Rangely (42-33) last Saturday had won their previous four.

Hayden’s Erin Koehler is putting together a tremendous senior season.  She’s averaging nearly 20 points and nine rebounds on the season and has scored at least 12 points in every game.  Twice she’s gone over 30 points with 35 in an opening win over Cedaredge and a career best 36 in the December win over Vail Christian.  With defenses focusing on her, the senior has slowed a bit of late averaging 14 points over the last three games including 16 in the loss to Rangely.

Paonia counters with balance.  The Eagles have eight players scoring at least five points a game but none scoring more than nine.  Coach Scott Reinks often uses ten players in his rotation and with several blowouts, even more get on the floor on a regular basis.  That strategy also keeps Paonia in the list of contenders for a state championship almost every year.  Jessica Altman (9.3) is the leading scorer with Cerra Carsten (8.4) a close second.    Altman has led the team in scoring the last two games combined for 24 points against Soroco and Rangely.  Carsten (10) was second to Abby Campbell (13) in the win over North Park and paced the squad with 16 against Meeker.

The entire 2A schedule each day can be seen on our sister website at www.coloradoscores.com.  We will also post final scores there throughout the season.  Scores can be reported to Colorado Preps by email to kevin@coloradopreps.com, by text to 970.380.7737 or by toll free phone call at 866.534.6257.  We’ll also recap the week of action on the Built Ford Tough Scoreboard Show which airs each Friday night from 9-11pm on the Colorado Preps Radio Network.

The teams have plenty in common.  With the exception of the Brush’s three point win over Weld Central, each team has pretty much had their way against conference opponents.  Eaton has won all six league games by at least 12 points apiece while Brush has picked up their remaining five conference victories by at least that same margin.  Both teams have just one loss overall and each dropped a game to Holy Family for their only setback.  Brush fell to the four-time defending state champions 69-44 in the season opener for both teams.  Eaton came up short against the Tigers (50-36) in the first game after Christmas for each squad.

Even though Kailey Kaiser is the only fourth leading scorer for Eaton (7.8) she may be the most important player for the Reds on Friday.  Kaiser represents the only experienced size inside for the Reds and will have to stay out of foul trouble while battling the Brush tandem of Kristen Berg and Carli Nichols.  It’s nothing new for Kaiser.  The Reds are outsized by almost every opponent so it’s a role she’s accustomed too.

After serving a key reserve in Brush’s two most recent state tournament appearances, Nichols is now the first option offensively.  The five-nine senior heads up the scoring column with 14 points per game and also hauls in nearly seven rebounds.  Nichols is coming off back-to-back 16 point efforts in wins over Berthoud and Platte Valley where she hit 12 of 23 attempts.  Just a sophomore, Berg stands 5-11 and contributes nearly ten points and six rebounds a contest though she hasn’t reached double figures in scoring since netting 10 against Lyons on January 10^th.

The Beetdiggers also hope to have senior guard Kenedi Guzman back in the lineup on Friday.  She suffered a shoulder injury during a ten point effort against Berthoud on January 20^th and did not play against either Platte Valley or Mead last week.  Like Nichols, Guzman has quite a few minutes of state tournament play and gives the Beetdiggers an experienced point guard who also knock down the three-pointer.

Eaton, as in the past, is dominated by guard play and this year the sister tandem of Leah Cheney (12.1) and Kayla Cheney (11.1) pace the offense.  Leah had a conference high total of 22 points against Berthoud where she also recorded a season high 10 steals.  Kayla has reached double figures only three times in six league games but enters the week fresh from a 20 point effort against Fort Lupton last Saturday.

Helping the Reds recently has been senior guard Karli Jelden (9.6).  Her offensive put has undergone a significant increase since December.  After reaching double figures only once through the first seven outings, she’s now on a run of seven straight games of between 12 and 14 points and has at least one three-pointer in each game during the stretch.

Third place University (5-1) will watch the Brush-Eaton outcome with great interest.  The Bulldogs, who have not played either of the league leaders but will do so in back-to-back games next week, should get by both Mead and Lyons this week to stay tied for second with the Brush-Eaton loser.  Valley, Berthoud and Estes Park (all 4-2) share third place with a key game between the Spartans and Bobcats also set for Friday.

With a second win over Pagosa Springs last weekend, Bayfield (5-0) is in complete control of the Intermountain chase.  The Wolverines have a two game edge on both the Pirates (3-2) and Centauri (2-2).  That leaves the Saturday battle between Pagosa Springs and Centauri as the key matchup as the winner could secure second place.

It’s a big week for the Falcons as they also meet Bayfield on Friday.  Two wins will not get them to first place but a couple of victories should put the Falcons into second place by seasons’ end.  Bayfield won the first matchup 62-50 by jumping to a nine point first quarter lead.  Breetta Moe led the Wolverines with 20 points while Kayla Strobel added 18.  The two combined for 15 of 31 shooting and also pulled down 13 rebounds.  Leading scorer Candace Shaw (14.0) was held to just eight points; one of only two games she has not reached double figures this year but it was actually a good sign long term for the Wolverines as they collected a quality win without a top effort from their leading scorer.

Taylor Wilson (17) and Ashley Cornum (10) led the way for Centauri but the Falcons hit only 15 of 46 shots from the field including one of ten from beyond the arc.  They actually stayed in the game from the foul line connecting on 17 of 22 from there.  Look for them to again be aggressive in driving the ball to the basket in round two.

Pagosa Springs heads to Alamosa on Friday before hosting the Falcons the next night.  The Pirates won three straight in between losses to Bayfield and now they’ll need some help to get back into the title discussion.  Brooklyn Ducharme is the lone senior on the Pirates roster and played very well in both losses to Bayfield combining for 41 points including a season high 22 in the second matchup.

Machebeuf is the new number one team in Class 3A and they also lead the rugged Metro conference thanks to a ten point win over Holy Family last week.  The Buffs topped the four-time defending state champions 45-35 and also handed Manitou Springs their first loss four days later.  Now they must avoid a letdown as they battle both Lutheran (2A) and Faith Christian in a return to conference play this week.   The Eagles (4-1) are tied with Holy Family in second place one game out of first while Lutheran I battling several teams in the race for fourth.

The Buffs continue to follow Rebecca Howell’s lead.  The senior is averaging a double-double for the season (14.4 points and 11.0 rebounds) and another such game to her season list against Holy Family with 10 points and 11 rebounds.  Aisha May (14.2) is the teams’ second leading scorer and despite being limited to six against Holy Family, has been double figures in eight of the last nine.  Her season best of 21 came against The Academy in the first game after the Christmas break.

Faith Christian has won six of seven and two quality wins over Peak to Peak and Lutheran since a loss to Holy Family.  Because of that loss to the Tigers, the Eagles basically must upset the Buffs to have any chance of at least sharing the league championship.  Abby Chapman (16.1) is one of three double-digit scorers for the Eagles.  She tallied 19 against Holy Family and followed up with a season high 28 in the three point win over Peak to Peak three days later.

Olathe (8-0) opens the week on the Western Slope with a one game advantage on Rifle (7-1) and the Pirates are in good shape to keep that margin as they have just  two games remaining against a team in the top six of the conference standings and the opponents are tied for fifth.  They meet Aspen this Friday and then Grand Valley a week later.

Rifle should have little trouble staying alone in second as they face Gunnison and Basalt this weekend.  Stiffer competition is on the horizon as they battle Coal Ridge and Aspen net week.  Coal Ridge is currently in fourth place and can gain some separation on teams directly behind them in the standings by beating both Grand Valley and Aspen this week.  The Titans have a very talented sophomore in Paige Ryan.  She dropped in a career best 24 points in last Saturday’s win over Cedaredge.

Third place Roaring Fork has won three in a row since the loss to Rifle.  They’re at Hotchkiss in their only game of the week on Friday night.  Megan Gianinetti (6-0 JR) has been in double figures each of the last three games and also hauled in 30 rebounds in the same stretch including 12 against Cedaredge.

Second place in the Tri Peaks West is up for grabs when Florence (4-1) and Buena Vista (4-2) tangle.  Both teams are looking up at first place Manitou Springs (5-0).  The Huskies actually had a share of the top spot until a 48-41 loss to Manitou Springs last Tuesday.

Florence had a relatively easy time with Buena Vista in the first meeting beating the Demons 43-23.  Expect the rematch to be a bit closer as we don’t believe the Demons will suffer through another horrid shooting performance.  The Demons were successful on only nine of 52 attempts in game one, missed all five attempts from beyond the arc and had no player score more than five points in the game.  Since that ice-cold night, Buena Vista has won five of six to climb back in the race.

First place Manitou Springs had a similar type of night in suffering the first loss of the season to Machebeuf last Saturday.  Amelia Schofield, who scored a career best 24 points on 10 of 22 shooting in the key win over Florence on Tuesday, went only two of 25 against Machebeuf and finished with just eight points.  She misfired on all ten shots from the three-point line.

On the eastern side of the Tri-Peaks, we continue to wait for the rematch between Trinidad (8-0) and St Mary’s (7-1).  Those two collide in the regular season finale a week from Friday and that game will determine the conference champion.  Lamar (4-3) is also trying to stay up on James Irwin (4-4) in the race for third.  The Savages won the first meeting (45-37) with the rematch set for a week from Saturday.

In the Frontier, Denver Science (6-0) faces Lake County and Platte Canyon this week and since the two league foes have a combined record of 4-19, the Knights should be able to stay alone in first.  Pinnacle (6-1), which lost to Denver Science 54-36, stayed in the picture by beating Bennett (494-45) last Thursday.  They have a key game with third place Clear Creek next Tuesday.  Middle Park is tied with the Golddiggers in third place and still has important games with Clear Creek, Bennett and Denver Science remaining on the schedule.

The entire 3A schedule each day throughout the season can be seen on our sister website at www.coloradoscores.com.  Final results will also be posted.  Scores can be reported to Colorado Preps by email to kevin@coloradopreps.com, by text to 970.380.7737 or by toll free phone call to 866.534.6257.

Both teams will also use the game as a tune-up for a very important conference contest in the following week.  South leads Pueblo West by one game in the South Central league chase and they have that edge based on a one point double-overtime win in the first meeting.  Round two is set for a week from Tuesday on February 7^th.  That same day Valor Christian faces 7^th ranked D’Evelyn to determine the Jeffco regular season championship.  Both teams start this week unbeaten in league play and since they have a three game edge on both Elizabeth and Evergreen; their head-to-head battle will decide the crown regardless of how they fare in league play until then.  D’Evelyn meets Alameda and Golden this week while Valor’s lone conference game is Friday with Conifer.

Pueblo South has the advantage of a more difficult when compared to Valor Christian but that benefit could be offset by the Eagles getting the game on their home court.  The teams have a couple of common opponents in Mesa Ridge and Ponderosa.  South beat Mesa Ridge 47-28 and Ponderosa 69-40 with both games taking place in December.  Valor Christian beat Mesa Ridge by seven points (45-38) and handled Ponderosa 72-51 last Saturday.

Roosevelt is the only opponent for Valor Christian that has spent time in the top ten this year.  The Roughriders are currently ninth and the Eagles beat them in December.  By comparison, South has wins over Palmer and Doherty who are both ranked this week in Class 5A.  Then they also have the previously mentioned win over 5^th ranked Pueblo West.

Valor Christian features great balance offensively with Carolyn Bryan (10-8) the top scorer followed closely by Meg Gegen (9.4) and Kendall Bradbury (9.3).  Bryan had 21 and Bradbury a dozen in Saturday’s win over Ponderosa but Janine Beckit added 15 while hitting seven of 11 shots.  She averages 8.8 for the season.

South is getting 13 points apiece from Shannon Patterson and Mikayla Gordon while Megan Patterson chips in 11.  Those three combined for 43 points in Friday’s easy win over Canon City led by Gordon with 17.

Tuesday is a huge night inside the Colorado Springs Metro as the top four teams square off and if a certain two teams win, then all four will be tied in first going to the weekend.  Air Academy and Sand Creek (both 8-0) lead Palmer Ridge and Cheyenne Mountain (both 6-1) by one game in the standings.  Air Academy meets Cheyenne Mountain and Palmer Ridge challenges Sand Creek.  Wins by Cheyenne Mountain and Palmer Ridge create the aforementioned four way logjam.

Beating Air Academy has proven no easy task.  The only teams to do so are ranked number one and two in Class 5A this week (Highlands Ranch and Regis) and in the win column for the Kadets are victories against several highly ranked 5A programs.  Against 4A opponents, the Kadets are 9-0 and only two games have been decided by less than 21 points.  They topped 6^th ranked Pueblo West by 11 and Coronado by 19.

Brittany Hernandez (15 pts / 10 rebs) has been in double figures scoring in all but two games and has 11 double-doubles overall.  She gets plenty of help from fellow six-foot senior Kate Louthan who adds 12 points and seven rebounds a game.  Her best scoring effort of 24 came in a quality win over 5A Heritage.  Louthan has been red hot of late reaching double figures in five of her last six games missing only the Palmer Ridge game where she totaled eight.

Miranda Beal (8.8) has developed into a dependable third scorer for the talent rich Kadets.  She has only one double figure game in conference play scoring 16 in the win over Sierra.

Cheyenne Mountain has won seven of their last eight but that one loss was a crucial one falling to Sand Creek (50-43) last week.  That decision likely means the Indians will likely have to beat either Air Academy or Sand Creek to finish in the top three.  The Indians have a very talented one-two punch in Janae Vander Ploeg (15.8 points / 14.7 rebounds) and Amanda Weber (15.5 points).  Vander Ploeg has scored at least 20 points five times this year including a season high 30 vs. Legend.  Weber has reached that level three times in her past six games.

Should Air Academy pick up the win, then Sand Creek must beat Palmer Ridge to keep pace.  The Scorpions have won nine in a row since a rough 1-4 start as they were adjusting to new coach Jamie Carey.  The former WNBA player headed south from Legacy to take over the Scorpions program and she has a budding star in sophomore  Mikayla Reese (13.5).  Her game has gone up a notch in the past two weeks with an average of 19 over her last four games.   Reese netted a game high 17 in the crucial victory over Cheyenne Mountain.

Defense was also crucial in that win as the Indians limited Cheyenne Mountain to 14 of 49 from the field including only one of 11 from beyond the three point line.

Palmer Ridge suffered their first in-state loss to Air Academy last Thursday (48-27) but they recovered to down Lewis Palmer (44-39) two nights later.  Averaging slightly less than 50 points a game, they’ll look for a bit slower pace and since they’ve already lost to Air Academy, a win over Sand Creek is almost a much for the Bears if they wish to contend for the league crown.

Friday is the date for the potential Tri Valley championship game between 9^th ranked Roosevelt and 10^th ranked Windsor.  The Roughriders held off the Wizards 56-47 in the first meeting and that outcome separates the two atop the standings.  In that win, Roosevelt picked up 17 points, five steals and four assists from Gabby Ramirez plus a combined 22 points and 15 rebounds from the duo of Tiffany Trimble and Sydney Jacox.  They’ll seek a similar performance from the trio and if that happens, Roosevelt could have a two game lead on the second place Wizards.

Windsor’s top player right now is freshman Brooke Pemberton.  She put in 14 points and hauled in 15 rebounds in the first game with Roosevelt and that effort finished off a stretch of three straight double-doubles.  Pemberton added a fourth such game last Friday in a key win over Erie with 12 points and ten rebounds.

The Wizards need a win to force a tie for the top spot.  Post-season seeding is also on the line as both teams are hoping to break into the top eight for the tournament.

Third and fourth place in the Tri Valley may also be decided on Friday as Skyline and Erie tangle for a second time.  The Tigers won the first game so they have the advantage in the tiebreaker right now as both teams are 5-3 in league action.

First place Delta has control of the Western Slope chase and they can basically shut the door on the rest of the conference if they can post a second win over Glenwood Springs on Saturday.  The Panthers downed the Demons 56-49 in Glenwood during the first half conference schedule and since they also beat Moffat County in Craig, the Panthers are in a commanding position.  Should Glenwood Springs avenge the loss, then the two teams are tied for the top spot with Moffat County still alive in third but only one game back.

In the first meeting, Delta placed three players in double figures but Skylyn Webb may have had her best game of the season.  The junior was second in scoring with 13 points but added a whopping eight steals and five assists.  Katie Kahrs led the scoring with 15 pints and Callie Gafford added 12 points and seven rebounds.

Glenwood stayed in the game by hitting six three-pointers on the night.  Kenzie Nelson-Buehler had two of them and led the Demons with 16 points.  Delaney Gaddis hit three shots from beyond the arc and added 11.  They also connected on 15 of 19 free throws but were just 14 of 45 from the field.  Hit a few more shots on Saturday and they may move into a first place tie.

The Northern conference right now is considered a two-team chase between first place Centaurus (8-0) and Broomfield (7-1) but Silver Creek this week will try to make it a three-team battle.  The third place Raptors (6-2) can create some havoc when they host Centaurus on Friday.  The 4^th ranked Warriors won the first matchup 58-42 as they created a 16 point halftime lead and kept that margin over the final 16 minutes.

Silver Creek picked up 17 points from Margaret Davis in the loss and she also hit the teams’ lone three-pointer.  Defensively, they could not slow down the Centaurus trio of Maurissa Ortega (16), Andi Houck (13) and Taylor Langer (10).  The Warriors also connected for six three-pointers so don’t be surprised if Silver Creek extends their defense a bit more in the rematch.  The Raptors have won three straight since a seven point loss to Broomfield.  Ana Gurau (12.2) leads the team in scoring but was limited to just half that total in game one.

The daily schedule and results for Class 4A can be seen on our sister website at www.coloradoscores.com and we’ll recap the week of action during the Built Ford Tough Scoreboard Show which airs each Friday night from 9-11pm on the Colorado Preps Network.  Final scores can be reported by email to kevin@coloradopreps.com, by text to 970.380.7737 or by toll free phone call at 866.534.6257.

CLASS 5A

#3 Legacy at Fort Collins (Tues)

#4 Chaparral at ThunderRidge (Thurs)

#1 Highlands Ranch vs #2 Regis (Fri)

#3 Legacy vs Fairview (Fri)

#9 Grandview vs Arapahoe (Fri)

#4 Palmer vs #10 Doherty (Sat)

#5 Chaparral vs #8 Arvada West (Sat)

NOTES:  Seven games are listed but one easily jumps off the page this week as #1 Highlands Ranch hosts #2 Regis on Friday.  There’s plenty on the line in this one as the winner not only gains the inside track to the coveted Continental league crown, but that team should also land the number one overall seed in the state tournament bracket.  The Falcons have won seven in a row with Regis winning their last 11 and combined they have just one loss to an in-state opponent.  Also in the Continental are two games involving Chaparral.  The Wolverines look to stay in the top four of the league chase by beating ThunderRidge on Thursday and then look to improve their post-season seeding by downing Arvada West two nights later.  Legacy is tied with Monarch atop the Front Range South but Fairview and Horizon are both just one game back so their matchup on Friday will impact the divisional standings.  Grandview leads Arapahoe by one game in the Centennial chase so if they beat the Warriors again, they should land the conference crown.  Palmer and Doherty also collide for a second time to help determine the Colorado Springs Metro title.  Palmer won the first matchup 54-36.

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CLASS 4A

#1 Air Academy at Cheyenne Mountain (Tues)

Sand Creek at Palmer Ridge (Tues)
#4 Centaurus at Silver Creek (Fri)

#9 Roosevelt at #10 Windsor (Fri)

#2 Pueblo South at #3 Valor Christian (Sat)

#8 Delta vs Glenwood Springs (Sat)

NOTES:  The Saturday clash between Pueblo South and Valor Christian won’t affect conference championships in either the South Central or Jeffco but look for both teams to be focused going into the contest.  Both teams are unbeaten on the season and a top four seed in the state tournament bracket is likely on the line.  Both programs also have an important league game the following week as South meets Pueblo West while Valor battles D’Evelyn.  Those two games will also affect the post-season bracketing and also league championships as well.  First place in the Tri Valley is on the line when Roosevelt heads to Windsor.  The Roughriders topped Windsor by eight points in the first meeting so the Wizards must win to force a tie for the conference lead.  Delta has a chance to open a two game cushion in the Western Slope.  They’re already beaten Glenwood Springs once on a road and a home victory this Saturday will virtually clinch the league title.  The top spots in the Colorado Springs Metro will also be sorted out a bit on Tuesday night.  Air Academy and Sand Creek share the lead with their opponents sitting a game back.  Should Cheyenne Mountain and Palmer Ridge score wins, all four teams would have a piece of the first place pie.

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CLASS 3A

#3 Eaton at #5 Brush (Fri)

#8 Bayfield at Centauri (Fri)

#1 Machebeuf vs Faith Christian (Sat)

Centauri at Pagosa Springs (Sat)

NOTES:  For the first time in about a month, there’s not a long list of highly important games in this division.  In most cases, league leaders face lower division teams so they should have little trouble maintaining their spot atop the standings.  The exception is the huge matchup between Eaton and Brush to determine first place in the Patriot.  Both teams have suffered their only loss of the regular season to four-time defending state champion Holy Family and the winner could also get a leg-up in post-season bracketing.  In the Metro, Machebeuf must avoid a letdown after beating both Holy Family and Manitou Springs last week.   Should Faith Christian score the upset, then the Eagles would create a three-way tie with Machebeuf and Holy Family.  The Buffs also face a very good Lutheran team on Tuesday.  Bayfield has a two game lead on both Centauri and Pagosa Springs in the Intermountain so they will lock up the title by beating Centauri a second time this season on Friday.  If Bayfield wins, then Centauri and Pagosa Springs face off Saturday with second place on the line.

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CLASS 2A

#3 Las Animas at Rye (Thurs)

Lutheran at Machebeuf (Thurs)

#1 Akron vs Wray (Fri)

#8 Peyton at #10 Evangelical Christian (Fri)

Del Norte at Sangre De Cristo (Fri)

#2 Paonia vs Hayden (Sat)

#6 Vanguard at #8 Peyton (Sat)

#9 Calhan at Limon (Sat)

#10 Evangelical Christian vs Denver Christian (Sat)

NOTES:  With six straight wins, Peyton jumped into the Class 2A rankings for the first time this week and the Panthers are rewarded with matchups this week against two top ten squads.  They face Evangelical Christian and Vanguard in two very important district eight matchups.  Those three teams are battling Calhan and possibly Limon for a top four district seed which gives a team a quarterfinal game at home.  With that in mind, the outcome between Calhan and Limon on Saturday is also very important.  The game with Peyton is only one-half of another difficult week for Evangelical Christian as they meet a Denver Christian team with only losses.   ECA has lost a game each of the past two weeks and have slid from sixth to tenth in the rankings.  Top ranked Akron looks unbeatable at this point but the Rams have a tough date with Wray on Friday.  The Eagles are below five hundred for the season (5-9) but have played almost every opponent very close including a 59-47 loss to Akron earlier in January.  Paonia and Las Animas face difficult opponents as they look to stay to top of their respective conferences.  Del Norte and Sangre De Cristo may be battling for second place behind defending state champion in the Southern Peaks conference.

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CLASS 1A

#4 Deer Trail vs Belleview Christian (Thurs)

#4 Deer Trail at Flagler (Fri)

#9 Kit Carson vs Kim (Fri)

Springfield at Sierra Grande (Fri)

#3 Caliche at #6 Merino (Sat)

#7 Wiley at #9 Kit Carson (Sat)

NOTES: Although Pawnee will be involved, the matchup between Caliche and Merino could give us a preview of a district championship game.  The teams are a combined 24-2 on the season with Merino falling to Akron and Flagler and Caliche unbeaten.  The winner stays in line for the Lower Platte league championship as well.  The game between Deer Trail and Belleview Christian is probably more interesting to the Belleview front.  They’re unbeaten on the season and coming off a state tournament appearance but their lackluster schedule makes it difficult to determine how good they really are and if they belong in the top ten.  Their trip to Deer Trail will give us a better indication as they’ll face one of the top teams in the division.  Deer Trail also has to recover quickly from Thursday to meet up with a Flagler team that’s lost five of six against very good competition.   Sierra Grande was a top ten member before a stunning 29 point loss to Kim.  They seek a better performance against a vastly improved Springfield team that topped Kim about ten days ago.  Kit Carson has won eight in a row but hardly any of those wins have been by double digits.  Two more tight games can be expected this week as they face two quality opponents.

The game is also interesting since the core players for both teams have battled each other for several years in high school, junior high and on the club scene.  Akron has welcomed the addition of freshman Jordan Baer but the junior tandem of Sidney Merrill and Allyson Vasquez have been starters since their freshman seasons and have played important roles at the state tournament each of the past two years.  Sedgwick County is led by the senior duo of Laura Beckman and Ashley Campbell.  Starters for the past three years, the two joined the graduated MacKenzie Ault to lead the Cougars to Pueblo each of the year two years.

Beckman is coming off a special performance in Saturday’s win over Wray which was easily her best effort of her tremendous high school career.  Beckman poured in 43 points and hit 16 of 31 shots from the field against a solid Wray defense.  Campbell was also effective with 21 points as the two combined for all but ten points in the Cougars high scoring 74-69 victory.

Beckman’s outburst continues a recent torrid scoring pace.  Averaging 19.9 points for the season, Beckman has scored at least 20 points in five of their six games and is averaging 25 points during that span.  Beckman is next in line with 14.5 points per game and had a season high 26 against Creek Valley, NE.

Beckman and Campbell should match up well with the Akron tandem of Vasquez and Baer but the Cougars like many teams, could have difficulties slowing down the 6-1 Merrill.  Nursing an injured ankle earlier this month, Merrill missed the Wiggins game and then scored just seven points the next day against Merino.  She returned to form last week totaling 34 points, 18 rebounds and nine blocks in wins over Haxtun and Yuma.  Merrill is difficult to defend because she runs the floor so well for a post and opposing centers have trouble keeping up with her.

Baer is also coming off a 20 point effort against Yuma and added seven rebounds.  The first year player also netted 21 in the big win over Merino.

Evangelical Christian (10-1) faces two challenges this weekend including a crucial district game with Calhan on Saturday.  Preceding that game is a quality non-conference battle with 3A Florence which currently sits second in the Tri Peaks West.

The Eagles are the defending state runners-up and it appears they will go as far as the duo of Abby Dorman (14.8) and Heidi Mann (13.4) will carry them.  They combine to score nearly 25 points a game but were limited to 17 in the team’s lone loss to 6^th ranked Vanguard.  Dorman and Mann are almost a bigger threat in the full court pressure combing for nearly 15 steals a game including over nine from Mann alone.  Mann scored a season high 21 against Byers with Dorman matching that total in the season opening win over Ellicott.

Evangelical Christian is 3-0 in district play with wins over Byers, Fountain Valley and Miami Yoder.  The loss to Vanguard did not count toward district seeding as they will face the Coursers again later in the season.  Calhan, which dropped a district game to Peyton (63-51) last Saturday, sits 1-1 in district action and needs an upset of the Eagles to stay in line for a top two seed.

Calhan’s strength is their depth as nine to ten players routinely score each game.  Because of that balance, no single player averages double figures but Erin Renzelman (9.8), Sabrinna Notz (9.5) and Riley Cookson (9.5) are basically there.  Renzelman had 15 points in the Fountain Valley win and led 11 players in the scoring column.  Nine players made a mark in the scorebook against Peyton led by 17 from Notz.

Florence (9-4) dropped into second place in the Tri Peaks because of a loss to unbeaten and 4^th ranked Manitou Springs (3A) Tuesday night.  That loss snapped a five game winning streak and probably cost the Huskies a berth in the Colorado Preps top ten.  They host Manitou Springs in a rematch on February 15^th and if the Huskies keep winning, that game will decide the conference championship.

5^th ranked Burlington puts their seven game winning streak on the line at home against Flagler Friday night.  The matchup continues rugged schedules for both teams.  Burlington’s best wins in the streak are against Deer Trail and Wray and have games remaining with Holyoke, Limon and Hi Plains before the regular season comes to a close.  Flagler features the high scoring tandem of Kayla Schwartz and Jenna Elrick who score almost 25 points a game together.

Burlington junior center Allie Satterly will pose a matchup problem for the guard oriented Panthers.  She put together a complete game in the win over Wray with 11 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals.  On the season, she’s close to averaging a double-double with 12.2 points and 9.6 rebounds.  Senior guard Ori Swiatkowski has struggled with her shooting of late going without a three pointer against Stratton or Deer Trail but she did connect on a pair of treys against both Genoa Hugo and Wray.  During the past four games, Swiatkowski has hit on only nine of 38 attempts but is getting to the foul line where she’s 13 of 19 over the last three outings.

The Cougars may also get a late season boost with the return of Jade County.  The returning starting forward finally returned to the lineup last weekend after missing the entire season with a knee injury suffered in practice just before the season opener.  Right now, the senior is playing small minutes to get back into basketball shape and score four points with five rebounds and three steals in two games over the weekend.

Sanford and Lutheran are two top ten teams that have already seen action this week and both suffered losses against high level 3A teams.  The 4^th ranked Indians came up short at 10^th ranked Pagosa Springs 34-29 while the 10^th ranked Lions lost a conference game to Faith Christian (60-49).

Sanford returns to league and district play on Friday and then battle La Veta next Tuesday.  With future games against Centauri, Sangre De Cristo and Pagosa Springs so they have plenty of challenges remaining before heading off to defend their state championship of a year ago.  The Indians have been playing without senior Kylan Reynolds because of injury but reigning Player of the Year Tori Mortensen has stepped up her game in her absence.  Mortensen poured in 28 points in the 63-35 win over Custer County last Saturday and has been in double figures in each of the past five games.  She’s averaged nearly 16 points in that stretch compared to her season average of 13.  Reynolds had averaged 11 points in her last four games before an injury that has caused her to meet at least three games.

Lutheran’s loss dropped them the Lions into fourth place in the rugged 3A Metro conference where they share that spot with St Mary’s Academy, Jefferson Academy and Manual.  All are 2-2.  The Lions, who also dropped a 37-34 decision to Lincoln Lutheran NE on Saturday, look to snap a two game skid at home against Englewood on Friday.  Then next is a big challenge against Machebeuf which likely will be ranked number one in the state at tip-off after beating four-time defending state champion Holy Family earlier this week.  Regardless of where they finish inside the conference, we expect the Lions to be a factor in the 2A post-season because of that rugged schedule dominated by 3A opponents.

Junior Jennifer Vigil, who played the last two seasons at Front Range Christian and helped them to the regional tournament each year, leads Lutheran with nearly 12 points a game.  She scored a season high of 15 against Denver Christian and matched that in a loss to Eaton.  She also dropped in 13 against Holy Family.

2^nd ranked Paonia (9-1) is on the road twice this weekend with tough challenges against Rangely (8-4) and Soroco (8-3).  The Eagles have won five straight since a loss to 8^th ranked Delta (4A) including a nice 57-46 win over Meeker.  By comparison, Rangely is coming off a 54-42 home loss to Meeker last Saturday and Soroco lost to Rangely 69-43 in mid-January.  Those results make Paonia a favorite in both games.

As mentioned in previous updates, Paonia features great balance offensively with different players stepping up each night on that end.  Defensively against Rangely, they’ll look to slow down the duo of Brittany Babineaux (15.9) and Quincey Thacker (14.7).  Babineaux has three straight games in double figures including 21 in the nice win over Soroco.  She added 14 in last Saturday’s loss to Meeker.  Thacker, who also adds nearly 12 rebounds a game, went for 20 and 21 points in back-to-back games against Soroco and West Grand before matching Babineaux’s 14 versus Meeker.

Soroco has won four in a row since the Rangely loss with two of those wins against 1A foes Vail Christian and Plateau Valley and a third over the Moffat County JV.  They also visit Hayden on Friday so it’s a difficult weekend for a Rams team trying to climb the ladder in a very good Western Slope league.  Madison George (18.1) is their top scorer who also contributes five rebounds and six steals a night.  The senior netted a career best 31 points against Vail Christian and is averaging 23 points during the current four game win streak.

For Wiley, this season is the final run for a talented senior class that has re-energized the Panther program.  Spitzer, a four year starter, is among the best players in the state and leads the team with 14.9 points and 9.5 rebounds a game.  She carried more of the load early with a 16 point per game average through the first five games but as more players get comfortable in the offense, that total has reduced to 12.5 over her last six.  Regardless of the numbers, she remains the first option on offense and is effective both inside and on the perimeter.  She had 14 points and seven rebounds in the first game with Eads.

Shooting guard Kim States is on a hot streak of late.  Before scoring just six points in limited minutes last Saturday against Community Christian, the senior had totaled 49 in her previous three games against Granada, Walsh and Manzanola.  Her outside shooting opens up the inside for Spitzer and Teri Johnson.  States finished with seven against Eads in December while Johnson added nine rebounds and six steals.

Eads controlled the inside in game one with Dixon (12) and Tanaia Hansen (8) combining for eight rebounds.  Hansen, a 6-1 freshman, continues to improve each game and is averaging 9.3 points and 10.9 rebounds overall.  Guard Kailyn Lane was also a big factor in the Wiley win hitting three treys in the second half to finish with 12 points.  Natalya Weber was only 3 of 13 from the field in the first game but hit five of six FT’s to end up with 11.  As a team, the Eagles hit 12 of 14 shots from the foul line and that spot could again be crucial on Thursday especially if they have the lead late.

Eads has won six straight since a lone one point stumble to Kit Carson. Every win in that stretch is by at least 13 points and the list of victims includes Kim, McClave and Hi Plains.  They’re coming off a 58-24 blowout of Crowley County Tuesday night.  Walsh has won five in a row in dominating fashion and of course the team has pointed to this game ever since that narrow loss in December.

Staying in the Southeast corner, 9^th ranked Kit Carson heads out on the road to face a suddenly very good Springfield team.  The Longhorns made an extremely rare in-season coaching change over the holidays with veteran coach Mike Jaco taking over the program and the girls have responded well; winning four of six since the change.  Losses are by two points apiece to Cheyenne Wells and Boise City Oklahoma.  They gained some statewide attention last week by beating both Kim and McClave on back-to-back nights.

Different players are stepping up each night for the Longhorns.  Alyssa Dunlap has scored 44 points in the last three games including 14 and 12 in the wins over Kim and McClave.  She also collected nine rebounds against McClave.  Adrienne Mondragon recorded a double-double against McClave with a team high 17 points and 11 rebounds.  Aubrie Konkel did the same against Kim the night before with 16 points and a whopping 17 rebounds.

Kit Carson is a perfect 6-0 since Christmas with wins over Hi Plains, Eads, Flagler and Holly.  They toppled Holly 45-36 last Saturday to avenge a two point loss to the Wildcats at the Lamar tournament pulling away in the fourth quarter with a 14-8 run.

Top ranked Simla takes a 38-game winning streak into Thursday’s date with Limon. In fact, the senior class for the Cubs is 75-11 overall and hasn’t lost since the final game of the 2009-10 season.   Pace will be important as the Badgers, who were ranked in the top ten of 2A until losses to Vanguard and Deer Trail, average 51 points a game but that’s 16 lower than the 67 points put up on average by the Cubs.  Simla is coming off a very impressive 75-40 win over Flagler where they outscored the Panthers 45-21 in the second half.  That’s been their M-O on several occasions this year as they wear down opponents with intense full court pressure and high octane offense.

Against Flagler, the Cubs recorded 24 steals including eight from Jaci Digby; six from Kenzi Mitchell and four from Marilyn Alexander.  Mitchell led the offense with 22 points with Alexander next in line with 15 and Digby 13.  The team shot 47 percent from the field in racking up their 12^th win of this season and as mentioned, 38^th straight overall.

The Cubs of course are the defending state champions but Limon is among the last teams to beat them.  Simla’s last loss came against Las Animas in the 2010 2A regional finals.  The week before, they lost to Limon 27-23 in the third place game of the district tournament.  The game continues a rugged second half slate for Limon.  After Simla, they host Stratton next Friday but then have matchups with Calhan, Burlington, Peyton, and Evangelical Christian over the final three weeks of the regular season.

Hi Plains and Otis collide Friday night in a game that should determine the YWKC championship and the number one seed for districts.  They met in December with the Patriots scoring a hard fought 49-46 non-conference contest.  The game may be determined by which high scoring duo is the most effective.  In the first game, Emily Cooper had 21 points and T.C. Herman finished with 18 points and nine rebounds to lead Hi Plains but the rest of the team managed only nine points.  Otis was paced by Jessica Noble and Kati Kuntz who both scored 13 points with the rest of the squad chipping in 20.

Noble and Kuntz of course are familiar names to fans who follow volleyball.  They are the top two contributors to the Bulldogs state championship run last November and have turned into the leaders on the basketball floor as well.  Noble is among the top athletes in the state and has had at least five games of 20 points this year including a season best 30 in the tough loss to 4^th ranked Deer Trail. She averages nearly 17 points for the season.  Kuntz (9.7) is second in scoring and provides four steals a game defensively.  She had a season high of 19 points against Bethune which finished off a stretch four straight double figure efforts.

Otis (8-5) has played a difficult schedule with losses to Akron, Burlington and Deer Trail since the first meeting with Hi Plains.  Those three opponents have just three combined losses on the season and all are ranked in the top five of their respective class.

Also out East is a nice battle between Elbert and Flagler Saturday night.  Neither team is in the top ten but the game could serve as a preview of a district semi-final late next month.  Both teams have recently Even though Elbert has the better record and three more wins, the Bulldogs have not played the same level of competition as the Panthers.  Flagler has lost three of four with losses coming to Limon, Kit Carson and Simla.  Nine of the ten wins for Elbert have been by at least 10 points so they need some better competition to prep for the playoffs.  Their lone loss is against Simla in which they led the Cubs by two at intermission before falling 73-45 in the end.  Flagler fell to the top ranked Cubs by a 75-40 count so using Simla as a comparison; Saturday’s game should be very tight.

In the west, 8^th ranked Norwood rolled to a third win over 2A Ridgway on Tuesday beating the Demons easily 72-39.  Ridgway is 8-3 overall with all three losses coming against the powerful Mavericks.  Norwood received normal efforts from Lindsey Stindt (19 points), Harlie Williams (11) and Katelyn Hardman (11) but also received a boost from Shelby Brier.  The guard poured in a season high 18 points and hit four three pointers in the win.  Brier averages ten points a game and now has 22 treys overall.

Norwood looks to continue their unbeaten run through the San Juan conference on Saturday when they visit Telluride.  It’s the first of two meetings with the Miners who were beaten by Ridgway earlier in the season.

Sierra Grande has a chance to virtually lock up the Southern Peaks title when they visit Mountain Valley on Thursday.  The Panthers topped Mountain Valley 45-39 in December and if they score another win this week, they’ll have a nice two game edge on all conference rivals.  Brianna Archuleta led the Panthers in game one with 13 points while Tori Archuleta added nine and Chelsea Roybal eight.  Sierra Grande also has upcoming tests with Springfield, Del Norte and Centennial so they should be primed and ready for a post-season run in late February and March.

Fleming gets a second chance to beat Pawnee and Briggsdale this weekend.  The 2^nd ranked Coyotes lead the 10^th ranked Falcons by one game in the North Central standings while Fleming is battling Peetz for third place. Since the Wildcats lost a one point game at Peetz earlier this month, they actually sit in fourth place so an upset of one of the top two teams will boost their chances at a top three finish.

Fleming fared much better against Briggsdale in the first meeting falling to Falcons by just four points (42-38).  By comparison, they lost to Pawnee 50-28.  Against Briggsdale, the Wildcats actually jumped to a 14-2 lead in the first quarter but were then outscored 24-11 in the second half to suffer the loss.  Taylor King picked up three treys and 14 points in the win and leads the team with nearly 15 points a game overall.  She’s coming off a 19 point effort in last week’s hard fought win over Prairie.

Briggsdale moved into the top ten for the first time this season thanks in part of their 46-37 win over Prairie last Friday.  The Falcons are 0-2 against Pawnee but 10-0 against the rest of the schedule.  They get a third shot at the 2^nd ranked Coyotes on February 9^th and the Falcons need to keep winning in conference play to make that contest meaningful to the race.

As in the past, the Falcons are guard oriented with McKaea Pfeiff (14.0) and RoAnn Fassler (9.2) leading the way.  Fassler has played only five games all season but her return has boosted the Falcons of late.  Pfeiff has been in double figures in every game since the opening loss to Pawnee where she was held to just six points.  Her season high of 21 came against Weldon Valley and she has 15 three-pointers on the season.

Pawnee keeps plugging along without much fanfare.  They get lost in the shuffle among the likes of Simla, Caliche, Merino, Deer Trail and others but the Coyotes are in position to make a fourth straight state tournament appearance.  Lindsey Johnston (11.1) is the top scorer with Adele Cass (10.9) a very close second.  Cass had four three-pointers and 16 points in the first game with Fleming.  Tasha Timm (8.4) added 11 points.  Kaylie Hahn (9.9) is a so a threat on the offensive end.

Caliche (11-0) and Merino (9-2) continue to work through the rugged Lower Platte slate.  The third ranked Buffs host Yuma on Friday and Holyoke on Saturday while the 7^th ranked Rams head to Wray Saturday night.  They also host winless Haxtun on Friday.

Both Yuma and Wray will be tough outs.  Yuma beat Wray earlier this year and also owns a seven point win at 8^th ranked Sedgwick County.  They’ve proven throughout the season that they can beat any opponent on a given night.  Wray (4-8) but the one point loss to Yuma before Christmas started a frustrating trend of close losses to quality opponents for the Eagles.  They’ve dropped five in a row with losses to Akron, Caliche, Holyoke, Sedgwick County and Burlington by an average of seven points.  Overall, six of their eight losses are by five points or less.

Caliche freshman Shalyn Johnson threw in 33 points in the Buffs win over Peetz on Tuesday.  That total broke her career record of 23 also set against Peetz in the first game of her high school career.  She’s been in double figures in all 11 games for the Buffs.  Jenna Zink chipped in eight points and Rachel Edler seven on Tuesday.  The Buffs are beginning what will be a difficult stretch.  After the two games against 2A foes this weekend, Coach Dave Huss’ team faces Sedgwick County twice, Akron and Merino over the next two weeks.

Merino continues to get stellar play from point guard Danielle Rinauldo.  Her scoring average now sits at 20 points per game and after being held to just 11 points in the loss to Akron, she responded with a 29 point night against Yuma.  It was her sixth 20 point game on the season and matched a previous effort of 29 against Flagler.  Michel Malia (9.6) put in 15 points in Yuma last Saturday as well.

METRO

In the highly anticipated battle of top ranked Holy Family and 2^nd ranked Machebeuf, the Buffs came away with a solid 45-35 decision over the four-time defending state champions.  The Buffs jumped to a quick 10-2 first quarter lead and held off numerous Holy Family charges throughout the game.  Heidi Grandon scored a dozen and Rebecca Howell added ten points and nine rebounds.

Howell was also a key member of the team the last time Machebeuf beat their league rivals.  On January 9^th, 2009 the then sophomore scored nine points and pulled down four rebounds in a 52-49 regular season win but they’re not the last team to upset the Tigers.  That honor goes to Colorado Springs Christian who topped the Tigers early in the 2009-10 season (December 4^th, 2009).

Despite the loss, history is on the side of Holy Family when it comes to winning championships.  They avenged the loss to Colorado Springs Christian by beating the Lions 45-29 in the state finals in March of 2010 and did the same to Machebeuf the previous season downing the Buffs handily 72-53 in the district tournament.  Holy Family also lost twice to Faith Christian in the 2007-08 season but ended up on top 38-33 when they met in the finals that year starting the Tigers on their current string of four consecutive state championships.

The win is just the start of a difficult week for Machebeuf who must now get ready for a non-conference battle with unbeaten Manitou Springs on Saturday.  In between is another conference game at Peak to Peak on Friday.  Holy Family gets set to do battle with 4A power Broomfield on Saturday but also meets Manual in what should be an easy league victory the night before.

Faith Christian moved into a second place tie with Holy Family thanks to a nice 60-49 win at home over Lutheran.  The Eagles though would lose the tiebreaker to the Tigers since they lost to Holy Family head-to-head last week.  Faith meets Machebeuf a week from Friday in what will be a very important contest in determining a league champion.  Abby Chapman netted 18 points to top the Faith scoring list Tuesday night but had plenty of support from Cassaundra Rindels with 17 and Abigail Hegarty with 13.  Chapman and Rindels combined for five treys in the win.

TRI PEAKS WEST

In a second first place battle that didn’t garner as many state headlines, fourth ranked Manitou Springs held off Florence 48-41 to take over the top spot within the division.  Both teams were 5-0 in league play going in.  According to the Colorado Springs Gazette, Amelia Schofield’s 34 point effort set a new school record for points in a single game.  The senior topped her own total of 31 points in a January win against Salida.  Included in her night was a sparkling effort at the free throw line where she hit on all 11 attempts.

With 21 points, Florence center Brittany Warren was equally effective but could not get her Huskies over the top.  As mentioned, the loss was their first in conference play and snapped their five game winning streak.  Their last setback also came at the hands of a 3A unbeaten team when they fell to Trinidad 48-38 back in December.  The Huskies will host Manitou Springs on Febraury 15^th in the final game of the regular season for both teams.

Both teams are done with league play for the week so Manitou Springs will keep their one game lead on Florence until next week.  The Mustangs now focus on their suddenly huge battle with Machebeuf on Saturday night.  That winner may be the new number one team when the newest Colorado Preps basketball polls are released next Monday.  Florence also has a difficult non-league assignment as they make a return trip to the Springs on Friday to play Evangelical Christian.  The Eagles have just one loss, are ranked seventh in Class 2A and ended up second in state a year ago.

Buena Vista took over sole possession of third place with their 43-30 win at Salida on Tuesday.  It was their fourth win in five games and puts the Demons at 3-2 in league play and one game back of Manitou Springs in the race for second.  Manitou Springs picked up a 42-28 win at Buena Vista last Friday and will host the Demons for round two on February 10^th.

TRI PEAKS EAST

Division leading Trinidad has two games on the schedule and the unbeaten Miners will be heavily favored in both; going to James Irwin on Thursday before hosting Ellicott on Saturday.  It’s the second meeting for and Trinidad topped James Irwin 60-23 and Ellicott 48-33 in the first matchups.  Much of the focus for Trinidad right now is their regular season ending date with St Mary’s on February 10^th.  They lead the Pirates by one game in the standings after edging them 44-42 earlier this season.

St Mary’s can stay alone in second place by beating Lamar on Friday.  The Pirates whipped the Savages 50-31 in Colorado Springs in December but they on the road, they expect a more difficult time.  Gabi Florek though is looking forward to the matchup.  The senior dropped in a career high 28 points including six three pointers in the first meeting.  She was the only player for either team in double figures as teammate Dawn Reachard chipped in eight points while Lamar was led by the trio of Sydney Crist, Lauren Tinnes and Chelsea Vallejos who all scored six.

St Mary’s is 5-1 in league play and needs to keep winning to stay within one game of Trinidad and make the season finale date with the Miners meaningful.  Lamar (4-2) is alone in third place but gains a share of second place by avenging the earlier loss to the Pirates.  They’re also trying to hold off the charge of an improved James Irwin club that has won three of their first six conference outings.  Lamar held off James Irwin 45-37 in their first meeting.

PATRIOT

Eaton and Brush both scored league wins Tuesday night and continue to share the lead at 5-0.  The 3^rd ranked Reds rolled Mead 61-38 behind 12 points from Karli Jelden and ten from Kailey Kaiser and improved to 11-1 overall.  Brush fought past Platte Valley 47-35 outscoring the Broncos 16-5 in a decisive third quarter.  Carli Nichols dropped in 16 points and Jordan Deslauriers chipped in 12 leading the ‘Diggers to their 11^th win in 12 games.  Brush entertains Mead and Eaton is home to Lyons on Friday.  Their first place showdown is scheduled for a week from Friday.

University kept pace with the conference leaders; scoring a high-level 48-37 win over Valley on Tuesday.  It served as a nice rebound for the Bulldogs who were upset at Estes Park (50-38) last Friday that dropped them out of a first place tie with Eaton and Brush.  6-1 senior Tori Fisher was nearly perfect hitting 14 of 15 shots from the field to finish with 30 points.  Averaging 21 points a game, Fisher reached the 30 point level for the third time on the season and second time in the last three games.  She also dropped in 31 points against Highland last week in a game where she went 13 of 18 from the field.  Against Valley, Fisher also hauled in 14 rebounds which is still quite a bit shy of her season high of 23 in the opening win over Pinnacle.

For Valley, it was their second straight loss and drops them into a fourth place tie with Weld Central, Berthoud and Estes Park.  All four teams have two league losses.  The Vikings look to rebound at home against Strasburg on Friday and with games against Lyons and Highland next week, they have a good chance of stringing a few wins together before heading to Brush on the 7^th.  University entertains Weld Central on Friday and needs to go without another loss until they face Eaton and Brush in back-to-back games if they wish to contend for the league crown.

FRONTIER

It wasn’t easy but Denver Science moved into sole possession of first place with their 54-36 decision over Pinnacle on Tuesday.  Both teams had won their first four conference games so with the win; the Knights now stand alone atop the standings.

Normally Denver Science wins their high scoring offense that was averaging 68 points a game, but Tuesday’s win can be credited to their defense.  They limited the Wolves to just three first quarter points and seventh in the fourth in collecting their tenth straight win overall and fifth in league play.

London Holland picked up 16 points in the win with Bradlee Cotton and Jaelynn Smith both adding 13.  The Knights attempted only three treys on the night but hit on 22 of 49 shots from inside the arc and Holland, Cotton and Smith were a combined 17 of 31 from the field.

The win also puts Denver Science in great shape to land the title.  They now lead Middle Park, Clear Creek and Pinnacle by one game and have already beaten two of those teams (Clear Creek & Pinnacle) so their date with Middle Park on February 11^th could determine the title.  The Panthers though may be not behind only a game behind by then.  They lost to Pinnacle by 29 points (65-36) and have dates with Clear Creek and Bennett before lining up against Denver Science.

Denver Science meets Academy on Friday while Pinnacle faces another difficult test at Bennett on Thursday.  Clear Creek, which scored a key 65-48 win over Bennett on Tuesday to stay in second place, is entertains Arrupe Jesuit on Friday.

INTERMOUNTAIN

With only five teams in the conference, the second round of league action already gets underway this weekend with the key battle taking place on Saturday between 8^th ranked Bayfield and 10^th ranked Pagosa Springs.  Bayfield downed the Pirates 45-29 in the first meeting and that result is the only separating the two teams atop the standings.  Bayfield must also head to Monte Vista on Friday while for Pagosa; the game is the only conference date on the slate this weekend.

In game one, Bayfield led 23-16 going to the fourth but pulled away with a strong fourth quarter; outscoring the Pirates 22-13 in that frame.  Candace Shaw was a force inside and was probably the difference in the game with 14 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks.   All three totals were at or above her season average and the effort may have been the best of her senior season.  Kayla Strobel chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds.  Pagosa Springs was paced by the only senior on their roster with Brooklynn Ducharme dropping in 13.  Sophomore Taylor Strohecker added 11 points, five rebounds and two blocks.

Bayfield has won three straight since the first win over the Pirates including conference wins over Centauri and Alamosa.  Should they beat both Monte Vista and Pagosa this week, the league championship is all but theirs.  They would have at least a two game edge on all other league members with only three conference games remaining.

Pagosa has also won three in a row since their first meeting.  The latest win came on Tuesday as they held off the 2A defending state champion Sanford Indians 34-29.  It improved their mark to 11-2 overall and with Friday off; they can turn their complete attention to avenging their only league loss in the past three years.

WESTERN SLOPE

Because of their hard fought 36-33 win over Rifle last Thursday, Olathe begins the week in first place (6-0) with a one game edge on the Bears (5-1).  Grand Valley, Roaring Fork and Coal Ridge (all 4-2) are in a three team battle for third.  Of those three teams, Grand Valley may have the most important week as the Cardinals tangle with Roaring Fork on Friday and then visit Rifle on Saturday.  Wins in both put the Cardinals right in the middle of the conference chase while two losses likely results in the middle of the pack finish by seasons end.  They’ll enter the key two game stretch off a disappointing loss (60-51) to Aspen last Saturday.

Grand Valley has already beaten Rifle once this season (56-53) but that came in a non-conference battle before Christmas.  Ashlynn Speakman fired in three treys and hit 12 of 17 from the free throw line on her way to 29 points.  The total easily offset the 21 point effort of Rifle’s Chantae Church.

Speakman is just a sophomore and stands only five feet tall but she’s the leading scorer for the Cardinals with 13 points a game.  The first game with Rifle is her only contest above 20 points for the season and even though she hasn’t scored more than 12 points since, you can bet she will be the focus of the Bears defense this weekend.

Against Roaring Fork, the Cardinals face a team that is below five hundred for the season (5-7) but with a record that’s deceiving.  The Rams played five 4A teams in December and also lost to 3A Metro Faith Christian at the Glenwood Springs Tournament.  Since the holiday break, the Rams have won four of six and now have a great chance to finish in the top three of the conference.

Junior center Megan Gianinetti seems to be the key for the Rams success.  In four league wins, she’s averaging 14 points but is scoring only 4.5 points a game in losses to Olathe and Rifle.  Gianinetti has two double-doubles on the season with one coming her last time on the court with 17 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday’s win over Cedaredge.

Olathe is favored to collect two more league wins this weekend facing Coal Ridge on the road Friday before hosting Basalt on Saturday.  As mentioned, Rifle has the important battle with Grand Valley on Saturday but also heads to Cedaredge the night before.

COLORADO SPRINGS METRO

Four teams currently share the conference lead but that number will at least be cut in half by the end of the week as the four leaders square off.  Both first place battles take place Thursday night as Air Academy faces Palmer Ridge and Sand Creek battles Cheyenne Mountain.  The teams are a combined 19-0 in conference play.

For top ranked Air Academy, the week is a busy one.  Their 60-41 win at Coronado Monday was the first of four games on tap through Saturday.  In addition to the highly anticipated matchup at Palmer Ridge, the Kadets also host Sierra Tuesday and Widefield on Saturday.  After playing a rugged non-conference schedule that included games with Legacy, Highlands Ranch, Pueblo West, Chaparral, Grandview, Heritage, ThunderRidge and Regis, the Kadets won’t be intimidated by the hefty game load.  The 19 point decision over Coronado was the narrowest margin of victory in league play for Air Academy which has included wins of 49, 44, 38 and 26 points.

Brittany Hernandez continued her sparkling senior year with 20 points in Monday’s win over Coronado.  That moved her scoring average (15.8) a bit closer to 16 points a game and she also leads the team with 10.6 rebounds including nine vs Coronado.  Fellow 6-0 senior Kate Louthan is scoring 12 points a game after dropping in 18 Monday night.  She’s second on the team in rebounding with 7.6.

Palmer Ridge is coming off a very good second place finish at the Colby Tournament of Champions in Kansas over the weekend.  After moving past Scott City and the host Eagles, Palmer Ridge fell to 6A Kansas power Blue Valley Northwest who is ranked seventh in that state’s biggest class.  It was their first loss after 13 straight victories.

Because they haven’t played the same level of schedule compared to Air Academy and don’t have the recent playoff success, the Bears realize they’re heavy underdogs.  Balance is the strength for Palmer Ridge as a different player seemingly steps up each night.  That trend continued in tournament play last weekend.  Amber Turner (10-0) is the leading scorer for the season but led the team only once in that category in Kansas.  She finished with 18 points in the opening win over Scott City but failed to reach double figures each of the next two nights.  Ali Meyer (16) and Madison Thomas (10) led the way in the semi-finals while Michelle DeCoud poured in 16 in the championship loss.  She also reached double figures (10.0) on day one.

As mentioned, the Sand Creek-Cheyenne Mountain contest is equally important as the winner will remain tied for first with the survivor of Air Academy and Palmer Ridge.  Both the Scorpions and Indians could be considered surprise contenders as each went just 4-4 in non-league play but have been unbeaten since the start of league action.

The teams have played similar schedules with both losing to Pueblo West and Doherty in non-conference play.  The 6^th ranked Cyclones rolled both the Scorpions (64-34) and Cheyenne Mountain (66-37) by almost the same margin.  Doherty topped Sand Creek by 14 points and held off the Indians by 11 so if you use those two comparative scores, Thursday’s game should come down to the wire.

Sand Creek is under the direction of former WNBA player Jamie Carey.  She’s getting improved play from sophomore Mikayla Reese who started slowly but is now averaging 12.4 points a game.  Reese scored a season best 26 against Vista Ridge and is coming off a 19 point effort in Saturday’s win over Pueblo Central.  Senior Jessi Macedo backs her up with 8.4 points but was scoreless while missing all eight shots against Central.

Cheyenne Mountain packs a little more offensive punch with the duo of Janae Vanderploeg (17.0) and Amanda Weber (16.3).  Both have been in double figures in all four conference wins with Vanderploeg scoring 20.2 in league play and Weber 18.  Since the Indians also host Air Academy next Tuesday, the game with Sand Creek begins a critical five day stretch.

JEFFCO

With every team except Valor Christian and D’Evelyn having at least two league losses, it appears the race won’t be determined until the Eagles and Jaguars face off on February 7^th.  Until then, the job for both conference unbeatens is to keep winning and simply hold serve.

Both could face tight contests this week as Valor Christian must visit Golden Tuesday night and D’Evelyn entertains Evergreen three nights later.  The Demons and Cougars are battling Wheat Ridge (all with two league losses) for the third spot and a chance to receive a top 16 seed and a home playoff game in the state playoffs.

Valor Christian (13-0) has beaten just one team that’s spent time in the top ten this year.  That came on December 10^th when they stuffed Roosevelt (61-53) as part of the Mountain Classic Tournament.  Behind 16 points from Caroline Bryan, the Eagles jumped to a 12 point first quarter lead and held on from there.  Kendall Bradbury (13), Meg Gegen (11) and Janie Beckie (11) also reached double figures in the quality win.

Bryan (10.0) is the overall leading scorer for the balanced Eagles attack with Gegen (9.8) and Bradbury (9.3) less than a basket behind.  Bryan’s effort against Roosevelt was the second of six straight double digit games in mid-season but she’s reached that figure only once since (14 vs Green Mountain).  Gegen has at least ten points in four of seven games since Christmas including the last two while Bradbury has netted just ten points in her last two outings.

Defensively, Valor Christian will try to corral Golden’s top scorer Kylie Santos (16.3).  The senior guard has knocked in 31 three pointers on the season but was limited to just four total points in last Friday’s costly loss to Evergreen.  That loss dropped the Demons two games out of first and probably knocked them out of league title contention.

Evergreen hopes to use momentum from that win to score another upset at D’Evelyn.  In between should be an easy home win over struggling Summit.  The Cougars have won three in a row since a disappointing 21 point loss to Elizabeth and are led by Erin Dobey (11.9) and Hailey Newhall (10.2).

Averaging 16 points a game more than Evergreen, D’Evelyn will seek a faster pace on Friday.  Madalyn Neely (16.6) has scored at least 18 points in four of five league games and has 13 treys in the same stretch.  Neely, pulling off nearly six steals a game is also dangerous defensively.  Laura Tyree (10.4) is the team’s second option.

TRI VALLEY

With first place Roosevelt expected to stay alone in first by beating Frederick and Fort Morgan on the road this week, the attention turns to the second place race between Windsor and Erie. The Wizards have a one game advantage in the battle and already own a 55-35 win over the Tigers earlier this season.  Erie though is a much different team at this point of the season and another easy win won’t be in the cards for the Wizards.

Erie followed up the Windsor loss with a 65-37 setback at Roosevelt two nights later but hasn’t tasted defeat since winning five straight. Part of the resurgence is the play of Holly Hatfield who saw her first action in the 49-42 victory over Skyline which started the Tigers on their current four game league winning streak.  Hatfield did not play in the first meeting with Windsor as she was sitting out the first 11 games after transferring from Mountain Range.  Hatfield scored ten in that game and is averaging only five points but adds depth to a balanced Tiger lineup that has been sparked by her eligibility.

If Windsor posts the win, then the title talk will be limited to just the Wizards and Roosevelt.  It would give Windsor a two game lead on every conference opponent in the race for second and set up a huge showdown with the Roughriders on February 3^rd.  Roosevelt won the first meeting 56-47 in Johnstown so the rematch will be on Windsor’s home court.

The Wizards are 3-0 since the Roosevelt game disposing of Skyline (66-52), Fort Morgan (66-28) and Frederick (51-31) with relative ease.  Kelli Ash (11.2), Korbyn Ukasick (9.9) and Brooke Pemberton (9.0) all contribute offensively.  Ukasick is averaging 13 points during the current three game winning streak and Pemberton, just a freshman, netted a dozen in Friday’s win over Frederick.  She scored 14 points in three straight games earlier this season including the loss to Roosevelt.

NORTHERN

Their thrilling double overtime victory over Broomfield last week gives Centaurus sole possession of first place as the first half league schedule comes to a close on Tuesday.  The Warriors face a road trip to Niwot that night and then begin the second half swing at home against a Longmont team they beat 37-32 in the first meeting.  The rematch with the Eagles is set for February 14^th at Broomfield.

Broomfield has a big week but their most important game is the Saturday non-conference showdown with Holy Family.  It’s the third year the two rivals have played and serves as one of the highlights of the girls’ basketball regular season.  Broomfield has won the last five 4A state titles and Holy Family has four in a row in Class 3A.  Tickets are already being sold for the highly anticipated game.

Before Saturday, Broomfield hosts Greeley Central and Thompson Valley.  Central is only 4-10 on the season and has just one conference win.  Broomfield topped Thompson Valley 41-29 in the first matchup.

Silver Creek, currently alone in third place, should be able to stay there with games against sixth place Longmont and last place Niwot.

WESTERN SLOPE

Since they’ve already Glenwood Springs and Moffat County on the road, this title is Delta’s to lose.  The Panthers finished off the first half of the league slate with an impressive 54-39 win at Moffat County last Friday.  It was their 12^th straight win; a streak stretched to 13 the next night with a 29 point win at Steamboat Springs.

A strong third quarter pushed Delta to the win.  Leading Moffat County by just one at intermission, they outscored the Bulldogs 15-5 in the third quarter to take command.  Skylyn Webb hit just eight of 26 shots from the field but hit ten of 12 from the free throw line to finish with 26 points.  For the junior, it was her second highest total of the season topped only by her 28 point performance against Grand Junction Central three days earlier.

The Panthers are home to Eagle Valley this Friday before visiting Battle Mountain on Saturday.  Next up are home games with Glenwood Springs and Moffat County but the two games are separated by six days.  Glenwood Springs goes to Moffat County on February 14^th and right now it appears that game will determine second place unless the Demons upset Delta on the 4^th.

SOUTH CENTRAL

How dominant have Pueblo South and Pueblo West been in league play?  Other than the one point double overtime win against West, the Lady Colts have won four conference games by a total of 156 points.  West has a tight seven point win over Pueblo Central but have three other wins by 61, 34 and 26 points.  With those figures in mind, we don’t expect either team to lose until the rematch on February 7^th at Pueblo West.

Pueblo East (3-2) sits in third but has lost two straight.  Their loss at Pueblo Central (42-37) last Friday severely damaged their chances at a top two finish.  They host Pueblo South on Tuesday and need a win to basically stay in the race.

SOUTHWESTERN

Friday’s battle between Montrose and Grand Junction will determine the first half leader in the combined 4A/5A conference.  Both teams are 3-0 out of the gate in conference play and have been dominant thus far.  Montrose has won their league games by an average by 21 points and Grand Junction by 23.

The Montrose run has been a bit surprising as they entered league play with an overall record of 5-8.  The Indians actually trailed Durango early in their conference opener but has not been pushed since in rolling past Montezuma Cortez (55-28) and Grand Junction Central (47-26).  They also face Fruita Monument on Tuesday ahead of their big showdown with the Tigers.

Grand Junction has captured six straight wins since a one point loss to Moffat County.  They avenged that loss by beating the Bulldogs 43-32 on January 11^th.  Overall, the Tigers are 4-2 against 4A opponents including a win over a very good Delta club that currently leads the Western Slope race.

Senior Jamie Derrieux will be the focal point for the Montrose defense.  The Tigers forward is averaging 21 points for the season but has bumped that to 23 in league play including a 28 point outburst against Durango last Saturday.  With only 18 three pointers on the season, Derrieux is more effective driving to the basket and is averaging nine free throw attempts per game.

CLASS 5A

#2 Regis at Grandview (Mon)

#3 Chaparral vs Heritage (Tues)

#1 Highlands Ranch at #6 Rock Canyon (Fri)

#9 Fort Collins at Horizon (Thurs)

#9 Fort Collins at Fairview (Fri)

NOTES: Regis shares the lead in the Continental with Highlands Ranch and Chaparral while Grandview has sole possession of first in the Centennial to the Monday matchup is a battle of conference leaders.  Chaparral and Highlands Ranch both face difficult tests as they look to keep pace with Regis in-league play.  Heritage already has two league losses but is still in contention for a top four finish.  Rock Canyon lost to Chaparral last week but beat ThunderRidge to stay one game back of the conference leaders.  A win over the top ranked team in 1A keeps them in the league title discussion.  Fort Collins opened eyes around the state with their convincing win over Monarch.  Now they have two important encounters with league rivals Horizon and Fairview and both are on the road.  The Lambkins enter the week 6-1 and atop the Front Range North with a two game lead on Poudre and Loveland.  Horizon and Fairview are two of the teams trying to chase down Monarch and Legacy in the South.

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CLASS 4A

#3 Valor Christian at Golden (Tues)

#1 Air Academy at #10 Palmer Ridge (Thurs)

Sand Creek at Cheyenne Mountain (Thurs)

#7 D’Evelyn vs Evergreen (Fri)

Windsor at Erie (Fri)

NOTES: Valor Christian opens the week tied with D’Evelyn for the Jeffco lead and even though they don’t meet until the final week of the season, both will have to play well against high level opponents to stay in the top spot.  Golden has lost in league play to Evergreen and Elizabeth so they’re already two games off the pace and a third loss will drop them out of contention.  D’Evelyn faces an Evergreen that lost by just seven points to Valor Christian and by 11 to a very good Broomfield club.  At just 4-3 in league play, the Cougars will still be a tough out.  Air Academy and Palmer Ridge are two of three unbeatens atop the Colorado Springs Metro league.  One will fall off the pace when they collide on Thursday.  Palmer Ridge is coming off their first loss of the season against Blue Valley North (Kansas City area) in the finals of the Colby Kansas Tournament.  Sand Creek is the third team without a league loss while Cheyenne Mountain sits alone in fourth with one league loss. Windsor (5-1) and Erie (4-2) hold down second and third in the Tri Valley.  Windsor’s lone loss is against Roosevelt but has won four in a row.  Erie opened just 2-8 overall but has gotten hot of late with five straight victories.  Windsor won the first game 55-35.

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CLASS 3A

#1 Holy Family at #2 Machebeuf (Tues)

#5 Manitou Springs vs Florence (Tues)

#7 Denver Science vs Pinnacle (Tues)

#10 Pagosa Springs vs #4 Sanford (2A) (Tues)

Valley at University (Tues)

St Mary’s at Lamar (Fri)

#1 Holy Family at #5 Broomfield (Sat)

#2 Machebeuf at Manitou Springs (Sat)

#8 Bayfield vs #10 Pagosa Springs (Sat)

NOTES: There’s not a bigger matchup in the state this week than Tuesday’s clash between Holy Family and Machebeuf.  They are one-two in the state and currently tied for the Metro lead.  The winner could land the number one overall playoff seed as well.  For good measure, Holy Family also has the always anticipated matchup with Broomfield on Saturday.  The two have combined to win nine consecutive state championships so it’s not a bad “second act” to the Tuesday contest.  Win or lose on Tuesday, Machebeuf must also quickly forget about Holy Family and focus on a meeting with another unbeaten (Manitou Springs) on Saturday.  Manitou Springs cannot focus directly on Machebeuf just yet as they battle Florence on Tuesday for the first half lead in the Tri Peaks West.  Both are 5-0 in league play.  On the eastern side, St Mary’s and Lamar are battling for second place behind Trinidad at the midway point of the conference race.  Denver Science and Pinnacle have each won four straight league games to open the Frontier chase.  The Knights, because of their high scoring offense, should be favored.  Bayfield topped Pagosa Springs on the Pirates home floor about ten days ago so they go for a season sweep of the defending league champions.  A Pirates win creates a two way tie for the Mountain lead.  Valley and University share third place in the Patriot and both trail co-leaders Eaton and Brush by one game.

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CLASS 2A

#4 Sanford at #10 Pagosa Springs (2A) (Tues)

#10 Lutheran at Faith Christian (Tues)

#5 Burlington vs Flagler (Fri)

#7 Evangelical Christian vs Florence (Fri)

#1 Akron at #8 Sedgwick County (Sat)

#7 Evangelical Christian at Calhan (Sat)

NOTES: District seeding comes into play on Saturday as Akron goes to Sedgwick County and Evangelical Christian heads to Calhan.  In District two, Akron is favored to land the top seed but the Cougars have been playing very well since a loss at home to Yuma.  They topped Wray last Friday.  Evangelical Christian is unbeaten in district play because their loss to Vanguard won’t count in the district standings.   The Eagles face a Calhan team coming off a narrow loss to Peyton in District eight action last Saturday.  They won’t get much time to prep for the game as they face a very good 3A team the night before (Florence).  Defending state champion Sanford has not been challenged very much in their conference so they get a much needed test against a Pagosa Springs team that has made two straight trips to the 3A state tournament.  It’s the first of two non-conference battles with the Pirates.  Lutheran and Faith Christian will watch with great interest the Holy Family-Machebeuf because their winner will be tied with the loser of that contest in second place in the Metro.  Burlington and Flagler both continue their difficult schedules by facing off on Friday.  The Cougars have won seven in a row but Flagler is going the other way with three losses in their last four games.

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CLASS 1A

#8 Norwood vs Ridgway (Tues)

#1 Simla vs Limon (Thurs)

#5 Eads at #6 Wiley (Thurs)

Sierra Grande vs Mountain Valley (Thurs)

#2 Pawnee at Fleming (Fri)

#3 Caliche vs Yuma (Fri)

Hi Plains vs Otis (Fri)

#7 Merino at Wray (Sat)

#9 Kit Carson at Springfield (Sat)

#10 Briggsdale vs Fleming (Sat)

Elbert at Flagler (Sat)

NOTES:  Eads edged Wiley 39-37 in the finals of the Lamar Holiday tournament in December and for the Panthers, they’ve been looking forward to this week ever since as they get a chance to avenge their only loss of the season.  The Eagles stumbled against Kit Carson in early January but haven’t dropped a game since.  Norwood has already beaten Ridgway twice this year so they go for the trifecta on Tuesday.  Ridgway’s only two losses are against the Mavericks.  Simla looks to stay unbeaten against a Limon team coming off two narrow losses last week.  They fell to Vanguard and Deer Trail by a combined eight points.  Sierra Grande has already beaten both Centennial and Mountain Valley so they can virtually lock up the Southern Peaks title by downing Mountain Valley a second time this season on Thursday.  The Panthers are also celebrating the birth of a baby daughter to Coach Fidel Velasquez last week.  Fleming has two important league games this week.  The Wildcats challenge both Pawnee and Briggsdale; two teams they’ve already lost to once this season.  They need wins in both to stay alive for a top two finish.  Caliche and Merino get good challenges from quality 2A opponents this week.  Yuma has already beaten Sedgwick County and now tries to end the Buffs perfect season.  Wray has played every team close to the end and may just need one close win to get over the hump and make a second half push.  Merino looks to extend their frustration.  Hi Plains and Otis battle for the top spot in the YWKC and number one district tournament seed.  Both expect to reach the regional round this year.  Springfield will be a difficult out for Kit Carson.  Since a coaching change over Christmas, the Longhorns have won four of five and toppled both McClave and Kim over the weekend.  Elbert and Flagler could easily be a preview of a district tournament semi-final.  The Bulldogs have just one loss all season (Simla).

Broomfield is ranked second and Centaurus fifth as they get set to step on the same court Thursday night. Both teams stayed perfect against conference foes on Tuesday but the Eagles had a much more difficult time in picking up a victory.  They held off Silver Creek in a defensive minded 38-31 result while Centaurus handled Mountain View 53-35.  The results left both teams at 5-0 in league play and with a combined record of 23-2.

The wins also pushed the Eagles and Warriors two games up on all other conference teams basically making the chase a battle between the two pre-season favorites.  As with their past five state championship teams, the Eagles do not have a go-to-girl but instead spread the wealth among several talented players and this year the talent pool is very young.  Sophomore Stacie Hull is one point away from averaging an even 10 points per game.  She dropped in 11 points in Tuesday’s win over Silver Creek and recorded a season high of 18 points in a league win over Mountain View.  Fellow sophomore (7.8) is next on the scoring list but was limited to seven points against Silver Creek which ended a string of four straight double figure games including a 20 point effort versus Northglenn.  Freshman Nicole Lehrer has four double figure games in her school debut season with two 12 point games (Roosevelt and Legacy).

As a team, Centaurus is scoring 48 points a game but has more experience in the starting lineup.  Senior Maurissa Ortega (10.8) paces the Warriors in scoring but has not scored more than 16 in any game this year.  Another senior, Andi Hauck (10.2) also averages double figures and has scored at least 13 points in three of her last four outings.

Third, fourth, fifth and sixth in the conference are also up for grabs on a busy Friday night.  Silver Creek and Mountain (both 3-2) with the winner standing alone in third with the loser dropping into a fourth place tie with the winner of Thompson Valley and Longmont (both 2-3).  All four are battling for a top four finish to improve their post-season chances.

Roosevelt (5-0) and Windsor (4-1) stand one-two in the Tri Valley with Roosevelt’s win over the Wizards the only game separating the two league leaders.  Game two is set for February 3^rd and if both take care of business as expected until then, that contest will decide the crown.  This Friday, Roosevelt faces surprising Skyline which is tied for third with Erie at 3-2 while Windsor deals with Frederick (2-3).

The Roughriders blew past Sterling (61-38) earlier this week to stay alone in first.  It was their fourth straight since Christmas and other than the nine point win over Windsor, the outcomes have been lopsided.  In the three remaining games, the Roughriders have won by an average of nearly 30 points.  Against Sterling, Gabby Ramirez dropped in 27 points including four shots from beyond the arc.  The senior is now scoring just over 20 points a game which includes an early 35 point outburst in a two point loss to 2^nd ranked Broomfield.  Tiffany Trimble is a solid second threat (11.8 points) and has reached double figures in five straight games.  She’s also a force inside leading the team in rebounding with nearly eight a contest.

It’s been several years since Skyline has factored into the Tri Valley championship picture but with three wins in their first five league games, the Falcons are indeed in the discussion.  They can move even closer to the top by upsetting the league leading Roughriders.  The Falcons dropped a 14 point decision to Windsor but recovered with two straight victories including a 54-38 decision over league rival Frederick.  Kaylee Spencer (15) and Deandra Ecock (10) led the offense and along with Carissa Curtis have paced the team throughout the season averaging a combined 27 points a game for an offense totaling just 46 points all-together.

With a win over Moffat County on the road Friday, Delta gains complete control of the Western Slope chase.  They’ve already beaten Glenwood Springs in Glenwood so two road wins over their top two challengers would put the race completely in the hands of the Panthers.  The three teams shared the conference crown in 2011.

Delta’s offense is led by one of the best players in the state that few fans have heard of.  Junior Skylyn Webb has a very nice all-around game with averages of 16.3 points, 3.5 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 4.3 steals per game.  She puts up those totals despite defenses specifically designed to slow her down.  She was limited to 13 points against Glenwood Springs but still controlled the game through five assists and eight steals.  In her last outing, Webb dropped in a season best 28 points against Grand Junction Central to go along with another five assists and eight more steals.

Junior Callie Gafford (10.0) picks up many of the points that Webb distributes.  In double figures five of her last six games, her continued solid play will make Delta a difficult team to beat in conference play.

Moffat County, which lost to Glenwood Springs (60-47) on the first weekend of conference play, realizes they cannot drop another league game and realistically win the championship outright.  If they come up short, their best hope is to win out and then hope that Glenwood Springs also beats Delta in their second meeting.  In that scenario, a three-way for the championship is very possible for a second straight year.

Senior Melissa Camillette (13.9) leads the Bulldogs in scoring but has struggled a bit against conference foes scoring just 26 total points against Glenwood Springs, Eagle Valley and Battle Mountain.  Her team has won two of those three and some of the lesser scoring can be attributed to fewer minutes as the Bulldogs whipped Eagle Valley and Battle Mountain by 30 points apiece.   Annie Sadvar (10.5) has actually taken over more of the scoring load of late as well dumping in 21 points against Battle Mountain while also reaching double figures in the other two league matchups.

In the South Central, Pueblo West rebounded nicely from the one point double overtime loss to Pueblo South last Friday by downing Pueblo East 66-40.  That left both teams tied for second place but of course West currently has the tiebreaker because of the head-to-head win.  West hosts Canon City on Friday.  Conference leading and unbeaten Pueblo South, which blew past Pueblo Centennial Tuesday night, entertains Pueblo County.

The Jeffco is paced by Valor Christian (5-0) and D’Evelyn (4-0).  Since those two don’t face off until the regular season finale, they could remain tied for quite a few weeks.  Golden and Wheat Ridge (both 3-1) sit tied for third place.  Friday begins a key stretch for the Demons as they visit Evergreen before facing Valor Christian and Wheat Ridge next week.  Wheat Ridge, which has captured five straight games since a four point loss to Valor Christian, tries to hand D’Evelyn their first league loss at home Friday night.

The entire schedule for Class 4A each day can be found on our sister website at www.coloradoscores.com.  Results can be sorted by team, by class or by league to make it easier to locate a score.  We also invite you to join us for our Built Ford Tough Scoreboard Show each Friday night from 9-11pm on the Colorado Preps Radio Network.  We recap the week in basketball for all classes and all corners of Colorado.

METRO

Since Holy Family and Machebeuf are ranked 1-2 in the state, they’re both expected to battle for the state championship but first up is deciding a league championship.  Both are 3-0 in conference and both will play another league contest before facing off next Tuesday.  Holy Family should cruise by Englewood this Friday while Machebeuf is favored to win at Kent Denver the same night.

Friday also marks a big battle between Faith Christian and Peak to Peak.  Both teams have already suffered a league loss to Holy Family but since Peak to Peak has also been beaten by Lutheran, they must win to stay in the race for a top two finish.  Faith Christian will be on the court for the first time since falling to Holy Family 59-46 on Tuesday.  Despite the loss, the Eagles should be boosted on how competitive they were against the four-time defending state champions.  Abby Chapman, Brooklyn Long and Abigail Hegarty all average double figures for Faith and the trio combined for 35 points against Holy Family.  Chapman led the charge with five three pointers to finish with 19 points.

Peak to Peak is getting 19.7 points and a whopping eight steals a game from Khadijah Sayyid.  She dropped in 22 against Holy Family and netted 17 in a loss to Lutheran.  The senior guard was limited to seven points in the opening loss to Northridge but has scored at least 14 in every game since.

Lutheran (2A) remains in the championship picture as they’ve won two in a row since the loss to Holy Family.  They go to Faith Christian next Tuesday and since they’re tied with the Eagles and Manual for third place, it shapes up to be a very important contest.

WESTERN SLOPE

Only one game and one point separated Rifle and Olathe in a great Western Slope race a year ago.  The Bears finished last season at 13-0 in league play with Olathe a game back at 12-1.  Rifle edged the Pirates 44-43 in their only meeting of the year and that one point decided the conference crown.

A similar scenario is starting to take shape this year.  Both teams have opened league with four straight wins and they collide on Tuesday to possibly determine the league championship.

Rifle has won nine straight and Olathe six coming in.  Of the Bears last four wins, two have come against 4A programs in non-league play including an impressive 54-52 win over then unbeaten Glenwood Springs.  Olathe is unbeaten overall against 3A teams with losses coming early against 2A Paonia (ranked 2^nd) and Grand Junction (5A).

Olathe picked up a solid 47-24 win over a Grand Valley team that topped Rifle early in the season.  Complete stats are not available for the Pirates but their top scorers through Christmas were Tawni Middleton (19.5) and Kyle Tait (13.0).

Rifle is paced offensively by sophomore Chante Church (15.9) who dropped in 20 points against Glenwood Springs.  In league play, she’s reached double figures in wins over Basalt (17), Hotchkiss (17), Coal Ridge (14) and Aspen (12).  Junior Joey Kuheim chips in 11.6 points and 8.4 rebounds a game and in the win over Coal Ridge recorded her fourth double-double of the season.

Grand Valley and Coal Ridge each have one league loss and sit tied for third.  The Cardinals should be able to keep pace with the Rifle-Olathe winner as they’ll be favored on the road at Cedaredge (Friday) and Aspen (Saturday) this weekend.  Coal Ridge should also stay a game back as they battle Gunnison and Hotchkiss before facing Olathe next Friday.  The Titans were beaten 50-40 by Rifle a week ago.

PATRIOT

Four of the top five teams in the standings meet up on Friday with the unbeaten battle between Eaton and Valley leading the schedule.  A second contest of note finds Brush at home against Berthoud.  Eaton, Valley and Brush share the conference lead with University with Berthoud a game back with one league loss.

Eaton is the defending conference champion and has won 17 straight in league play.  Their last Patriot loss came on February 9^th, 2010 to Brush (63-45).  Their latest win was impressive in a 62-42 takeout of Berthoud on Tuesday behind 22 points from Leah Cheney and 13 from sister Kayla.  Those two have led the Reds in scoring throughout the season but how far they go in the post-season may depend on the play of Karli Jelden and Kailey Kaiser.  Jelden has responded very well in league play with at least 12 points in the last three outings.  Kaiser maybe had her best game of the season in the loss to Holy Family and finished with eight against Berthoud.

Valley has won 9 in a row since a second round loss to 5A Smoky Hill in the Holy Family tournament.  All three of their league wins are by double figures downing Platte Valley, Mead and Estes Park by a combined 50 points.  The Vikings, who do not provide stats to MaxPreps, are a very young team with five freshmen among their top ten players including two that regularly start.  They understand the game with Eaton involves a step up in competition but also a chance to gain statewide respect on the 3A level.

Brush and Berthoud should also be a very good matchup.  The Beetdiggers dropped an opening game to Holy Family but haven’t experienced another loss since.  They’ll carry a nine game winning streak into the Berthoud game, a streak that almost ended at home against Weld Central on Tuesday.  The Beetdiggers held on while the Rebels misfired on a potential game tying three pointer as time ran out.

The Brush lineup is filled with players with state tournament experience and/or younger sisters of players who played a prominent role in rebuilding the basketball program.  Carli Nichols (13.6) is the top scorer and played a backup role on the teams two recent state tournament visits.  Kenedi Guzman (10.0) has also spent time on the hardwood at Moby Arena.  Kristen Berg (10.0) provides inside help and Emily Monarch (7.6) is a proven fourth scorer.

Berthoud’s success in league can be credited to a stingy defense.  The Spartans gave up 62 points in a loss to Eaton but allowed a total of 51 in wins over Mead (36) and Lyons (15).  Coach Randy Earl’s  club gives up only 37.7 points on the season and will try to slow the tempo against a Brush team averaging nearly 57 a game.

University of course will watch the outcome of those two games as they step on the court against Estes Park.  The Bulldogs have a huge date with Valley on Tuesday night and that game could determine the league lead if University beats Estes and Valley and Berthoud also post victories.

TRI PEAKS WEST

Manitou Springs and Florence share the conference lead at 4-0 and their job this weekend is to post wins ahead of their Tuesday night showdown.  The Mustangs face a rugged road trip against a Buena Vista team with plenty of league championship thoughts while Florence entertains a Colorado Springs Christian squad looking for a full 32-minute effort.  Should the two league leaders post wins on Friday, then the race probably evolves into a two team struggle as every other conference member would fall at least two games off the pace. 

Florence has actually been a bit more dominating in league play with 20 point wins over Buena Vista (43-23) and Salida (54-30).  A third win over Classical Academy came by a much closer margin of two points (42-40).  Two of Manitou’s three league wins are by eight points or less which includes a win over Colorado Springs Christian where they trailed by eight points in the first half.

The Huskies featured a talented senior duo of Britney Warren (15.7) and Casey Chaney (7.7).  Both standing over 5-10, they pose problems defensively inside.  Warren dropped in 18 against Buena Vista and a season best 25 against Classical Academy and is the first option on the offensive end.

After struggled with consistency early on, Buena Vista may be getting hot at the right time.  The Demons have won four of six with the only major disappointment in that stretch coming in the 20 point loss to Florence.  The Demons were hurt by the loss of Madison Osborne.  The teams’ second leading scorer (9.0) hasn’t played since December but Christina Labounta and Krista Green have helped pick up the slack.  Labounta paced the team with 13 points against Colorado Springs Christian and Green totaled a dozen in the win over TCA.  Senior Kaylee Schell (9.1) is the overall leading scorer but has reached double figures only once in the last six games.

TRI PEAKS EAST

Heading into the weekend, St Mary’s and James Irwin share second place one game back of Trinidad so their matchup on Saturday is considered the most important of the week.  The two have the same league record (3-1) but if you use comparative scores, then the Pirates are considered the heavy favorites.  James Irwin lost to Manitou Springs by 34 points, to Trinidad by 37 and to TCA by 16 points while St Mary’s lost to Manitou by just four points, to Trinidad by a bucket and also beat TCA by a dozen.  All four of the Pirates losses are against unbeaten squads that are ranked in the top five of Class 3A this week.

James Irwin though has a chance to make a statement in league play and step forward as a challenger to first place Trinidad.  They also face Lamar on Friday and two wins put them right in the middle of the conference title talk.

FRONTIER

Three teams share first place but that list will be trimmed by at least one when Denver Science (3-0) faces Clear Creek (2-0) on Friday.  It will be a game of tempo as Denver Science averages twenty more points a game than the Golddiggers.  The two share the top spot with Pinnacle and since Denver Science also faces the Timberwolves on Tuesday, they have a great chance to take control of the conference race with two wins.

The Knights pushed their season average to 68 points a game by blowing past Denver West (98-46) and Sheridan (81-26) in their last two games.  In the league win over Sheridan, five players scored at least ten points led by Bailee Cotton’s 21.  London Holland was a close second with 19 while Jaelynn Smith chipped in 16.  As a team, the Knights hit 33 of 65 shots as they faced little resistance from the Rams.

Clear Creek’s only loss all season came to 6^th ranked Valley by just three points (50-47). Wins over Lake County (40-30) and Platte Canyon (63-43) have followed.  The Golddiggers also host Bennett on Tuesday so the next six days could determine their league championship hopes.  Hailegh Washington (11.9) and Paula Hernandez (11.2) are virtual co-scoring leaders.  Fernandez has been scoring more of the late totaling 33 points in the two league wins with Washington close behind with 24.

MOUNTAIN

After one round of league play, we’ve learned only one thing and that’s to expect the unexpected.  Bayfield took advantage of early scheduling downing Pagosa Springs (45-29) just one day after the defending league champions took out Centauri on the road.  The Wolverines did not play on Friday last week giving them a full week to focus on the Pirates.  The win puts them in a first place tie with Alamosa (both 1-0) going into the next round of games.

Alamosa is quickly turning into one of the best stories in any class this year.  Winners of just six games over the past three years, the Moose have already posted five wins this year and with two wins this week, can become a major factor in the league championship chase.  They meet both Pagosa Springs and Bayfield this week and victories in both push them to 3-0 in just an eight game league schedule.  Shelbee Smith leads the Maroons in scoring (8.8) and rebounding (6.3).

Bayfield meantime plays host to Centauri on Friday.  The Wolverines will likely again rely on Candace Shaw and Kayla Strobel who totaled 25 points in the win over Pagosa.  Shaw also picked off 13 rebounds giving her another double-double.  The output was not unexpected as the tandem combines for about 30 points a game for the Wolverines.

Centauri responded well from the loss to Pagosa by knocking out Monte Vista (60-55).  Taylor Wilson netted 26 points including three three-pointers.  That effort came one day after she scored just nine points against the Pirates.

The entire Class 3A schedule can be seen online on our sister website at www.coloradoscores.com.  Simply click on the scoreboard tab inside the girls basketball section to see the rundown.  The games can be sorted by class and conference to easily find the games of your choice.  Final scores can be reported to Colorado Preps by email to kevin@coloradopreps.com, by text to 970.380.7737 or by toll free phone call to 866.534.6257.

Both teams are already closing in on their win totals of last year.  Vanguard (7-2) won just 12 games all of last season so they should surpass that total over the next month.  With two wins this weekend, Limon (9-1) can move past their ten win total of a year ago.

Vanguard scored the most noticeable win of the two as they upset Evangelical Christian 43-36.  The Eagles of course lost to Sanford in the state championship game last year and return a good level of talent from that team so the win may be the best in the relative short history of the Coursers program.

Bailey Haist and Cassandra Sulski each scored 14 points in the win and both players are still getting accustomed to their teammates.  Haist is a transfer from Classical Academy who is now playing for her Frank Haist with the Coursers while Sulski has recently returned to the lineup after missing all of December with an injury.  She’s played just three games and her total against ECA represents a season high.  Haist averages a team best 18 points and had a career high 33 in the early loss at Rangely.

Caitlyn Bower is developing into a nice third scorer with slightly less than ten points a game.  The sophomore registered her best total against Miami Yoder with 19.

Limon picked up wins over Flagler and Colorado Springs last week.  The win over Flagler was maybe more impressive as the Panthers entered the game ranked seventh in Class 1A but the Colorado Springs victory was more important as it moved the Badgers to 4-0 inside the district and into a first place tie with Vanguard (4-0) and Peyton (3-0).

The game with Vanguard begins what will be a brutal second half slate for the Badgers who also face 4^th ranked Deer Trail (1A) and Bay’lee Purdy’s 33 points per game average.  After the Eagles, the Badgers visit Simla next Thursday and have dates with Calhan, Burlington, Peyton and ECA remaining on the schedule.

District seed wise, the game between Peyton and Calhan also carries plenty of weight.  As mentioned, Peyton begins the weekend tied with Vanguard and Limon for the top spot so if the Panthers beat their arch-rivals they’ll remain in a first place tie with the Vanguard-Limon winner.  Despite an eight point loss to Vanguard last week, Calhan (7-2) won’t be an easy out as they also have plenty to play for.  The Bulldogs are 3-1 and are in a great battle with the three unbeatens and ECA (3-1) for one of the four highest district seeds.

Peyton has won only five of eight games but they’re unbeaten against 2A opponents and they done so with an extremely young lineup.  Freshman Victoria Goodman (15.1) leads the team in scoring with a good share of her work done from the outside.  She’s knocked in 33 treys on the season including six in the district win over Colorado Springs.  She’s added four treys against Kiowa and five more against Fountain Valley.

Sophomores Shelby Patterson (8.8) and Robyn Barrett (8.8) are also threats offensively.  Combine they average almost eight rebounds a game and provide a nice balance to the outside game of Goodman.

With five players averaging between five and ten points a game, Calhan has great balance and more experience.  Seniors Sabrinna  Notz (9.4) and Erin Renzelmen (9.2) nearly average double figures and Notz has reached at least ten points in her last four games.  Sophomore Riley Cookson (10.4) is the pace setter for the Bulldogs.  Calhan is 7-0 when she scores at least ten points and 0-2 when she doesn’t.  Cookson was held to four points against Flagler and eight versus Vanguard.

In the Santa Fe, Rye and Swink both fell to Las Animas this weekend and now they square off with possibly only the winner staying within a game of the first place Trojans.  Each team needs to stay within range of Las Animas so they can make a charge during the second round of league action.  Rye lost to the Trojans 63-49 last Friday despite 15 points from senior standout Danica Shipley.  They recovered to beat Rocky Ford by 19 points the next night.  Sophomore Kaylee Rahl continues to play more consistent basketball and will be critical to the Thunderbolts late season run.  She finished with 13 points and nine rebounds against Las Animas and then went for eight and nine against Rocky Ford.

Swink blasted Fowler (63-40) on Friday before dropping a 61-48 decision to Las Animas the next afternoon.  The loss snapped a five game winning streak for a Lions team that’s getting healthier each week.  Sophomore center Maddie Jacquart has played just four games because of injury but totaled 21 points in the two games last week.  Kourtney Stroud led the way with 14 against Las Animas which is six points more than her average.  Leading scorer Madison Stewart (16 points) was limited to just 13 combined points by the Grizzlies and Trojans.

Sanford and Custer County square off Saturday in a game that potentially will help decide the top three seeds.  Sanford (4-0) is tied with Sargent (1-0) for the early lead but the Bobcats are right in the mix at 3-1.  Del Norte is a fourth team that will be in the race but they lost to Sanford last week (43-36) and have some ground to make up but the Tigers did collect an important district win over Del Norte (41-32).

The defending state champion Indians are strikingly similar this year.  Great balance carried them to the state championship and so far this season, four players average either eight or nine points a game and all of them have taken turns leading the team to victories.  Kelly Canty (9.6) has been in double figures four times but was limited to four points against Del Norte.  Amberly Edgar (9.3) has scored at least ten points in three games and netted just five against the Tigers.  Tori Mortensen (8.9) has been in double figures in four of the last five games and led the team with 12 versus Del Norte.  Kylan Reynolds (8.3) has scored at least ten in three straights and chipped in 11 in the crucial district win.

Custer County’s leading scorer is Sierra Gerouz.  Averaging 14.8 points per game, Gerouz poured in a season high 25 against South Park and has been in double figures six straight games.  Katyln Rusher, with seven points and seven rebounds a night, has been remarkably steady throughout the season.

With a five game winning streak, Burlington has jumped to fifth in this week’s Colorado Preps poll.  The Cougars are coming off a solid 47-44 road win at Deer Trail on Saturday limiting Purdy to just 19 points which is nearly 15 points below her season average.  Defensive stopper Amanda Diaz spent most of the game trying to slow down Purdy in the box and one defense but found time to drop in a team best 12 points on the other hand.  She and Kiri Gately (9 points) surprised the Eagles a bit offensively as their defense was more focused on Ori Swiatkowski and Allie Satterly.

Burlington faces a tough home game with Wray on Saturday.  As always, the Eagles face one of the strongest schedules in any division and it continues against Burlington. Coach David Reed’s club also challenges Sedgwick County on Friday before battling the Cougars and then faces Merino next week with rematches against Akron, Holyoke and Yuma before season’s end.

Northwest neighbors Meeker and Rangely also square off in a great rivalry contest.  The two meet again on February 17^th and we’re still checking on which of the two will count in the conference standings.

Despite playing well, Meeker snapped a four game winning streak in last week’s loss to 2^nd ranked Paonia (57-46).  Taylor Nielson led the way with 13 points but had plenty of support from Aly Ridings (9 points), Kathryn Doll (8) and Aubrey Walsh (7).   Rangely (7-3) has won five of six against in-state opponents including a solid 59-52 win over Vanguard at the Meeker Tournament in December.  The Panthers rolled past Soroco (69-43) last week.   Brittany Babineaux (21 points) and Quincey Thacker (20) combined for 41 points in the win which is 12 points above their combined season total.

2^nd ranked Paonia heads to North Park which should result in an easy conference win over the struggling Wildcats.  The Eagles earned 16 points from Cerra Carsten against Meeker.  She was one of nine players who scored in the non-conference victory.  The Eagles and Cowgirls meet again on February 10^th in Meeker.

The daily schedule for games for Class 2A and all teams in Colorado can be seen on our sister website at www.coloradoscores.com.  Simply click on the scoreboard tab inside the girls basketball section to see the daily rundown.  The list of games can be sorted by class and/or conference to make it easier to find scores.  Results can also be reported to us by email to kevin@coloradopreps.com, by text to 970.380.7737 or by toll free phone call to 866.534.6257.