GIRLS BASKETBALL: Schedule/Results 1-15-13

Even though it’s very early in the conference season, first place is on the line on several fronts tonight especially in Class 4A where the race heats up in the Northern Conference.  The four league unbeaten square off so the list of leaders will be cut to just two.  In the smaller division, there’s a very intriguing matchup between unbeaten Yuma (2A) and a very good two-loss team in Sterling.

Below is the list of games involving top ten squads and other important matchups.  We’ll post scores from those games and others here throughout the night.  Final scores can be reported by text at 970.380.7737 or 970.380.7738 and they can be emailed to kevin@coloradopreps.com. 

CLASS 5A

FINAL:  #3 Highlands Ranch beat Doherty  70-27

FINAL:  #6 Rock Canyon beat Thornton 88-14

FINAL:  #7 Palmer beat Valor Christian 67-39

FINAL:  Monarch beat #9 Horizon 63-58

FINAL:  Denver East beat ThunderRidge 50-45

FINAL:  Fossil Ridge beat Fort Collins 53-44

FINAL:  Boulder beat Mountain Range 63-52

FINAL:  Legacy beat Fairview 42-33

FINAL:  Loveland beat Greeley West 68-30

FINAL:  Fruita Monument beat Olathe 54-29

The only conference game on the list pits Horizon at home against Monarch.  The Hawks (6-4) share the conference lead with Poudre (both 3-0) while Monarch is one five one-loss teams tied for third.  They’re also coming off a hard fought 66-65 win over Legacy last weekend so they will be a tough out for the Hawks.  Horizon has just two in-state losses with those coming against Regis and ThunderRidge.  The game between ThunderRidge and Denver East should be the second best contest.  Denver East dropped out of the top ten because of a loss to Highlands Ranch while ThunderRidge is a loss to Cherry Creek away from being in the top ten.  Both teams open league play on Friday.  Denver East meets Denver North while ThunderRidge tangles with Douglas County.  Highlands Ranch, Rock Canyon and Palmer are all expecting wins this evening.  Palmer is looking to rebound from a loss to Rock Canyon last week.

CLASS 4A

FINAL:  #1 Pueblo South beat Pueblo County 64-18

FINAL:  #2 Broomfield beat Longmont 58-30

FINAL:  #3 Mesa Ridge beat Widefield 61-36

FINAL:  #4 Pueblo West beat Pueblo East 63-39

FINAL:  #5 D’Evelyn beat Alameda 74-6

FINAL:  #6 Windsor beat Mead 58-43

FINAL:  #7 Sand Creek beat Cheyenne Mountain 61-35

FINAL:  #8 Palmer Ridge beat Air Academy 44-34

FINAL:  #9 Canon City beat Pueblo Central 56-37

FINAL:  Thompson Valley beat Centaurus 36-31

FINAL:  Mountain View beat Greeley Central 53-39

FINAL:  Berthoud beat Roosevelt 38-30

FINAL:  Skyline beat Northridge 50-41

FINAL:  Erie beat Frederick 45-31

FINAL:  Green Mountain beat Wheat Ridge 57-38

FINAL:  Rifle beat Palisade 47-30

FINAL:  Lewis Palmer beat Falcon 45-37

FINAL:  Sierra beat Woodland Park 36-25

It’s the second week of conference play inside the Northern League but the list of teams sharing the lead will be trimmed from four to two.  Broomfield, Longmont, Centaurus and Thompson Valley are all unbeaten inside the conference but since they square off tonight, only two will stay that way.  What could be a very interesting race in the South Central league opens tonight.  Three teams are ranked in the top ten and two others have at least nine wins.  Pueblo South is the favorite going in with Pueblo West (unbeaten) expected to finish second.  Each team will play each other twice over the next six weeks.  Mesa Ridge and Widefield are the early leaders (2-0) in the Colorado Springs Metro.  That tie will be broken tonight with Mesa Ridge favored to win.  They’re unbeaten while Widefield has just two wins outside the conference schedule.  Windsor is alone in first atop the Tri Valley and they lead Erie, Mead and Roosevelt by one game.  The Wizards have already beaten Roosevelt (58-56) so a win tonight gives them some breathing room through the first round of conference play.  Sand Creek and Air Academy share the Pikes Peak League lead.  They square off on Friday to break that tie but both must get through tough assignments this evening.  Air Academy is the defending state champion but they’re probably the underdog at home tonight.  Palmer Ridge suffered a loss to Sand Creek last week so they can ill afford another early conference setback. 

CLASS 3A

FINAL:  #2 Denver Science beat Pinnacle 82-20

FINAL:  #8 Classical Academy beat Colorado Springs Christian 37-22

FINAL:  Clear Creek beat Bennett 57-50

FINAL:  Grand Valley beat Coal Ridge 49-43

FINAL:  Platte Valley beat Frontier Academy 60-35

FINAL:  Academy beat Platte Canyon 58-45

FINAL:  Jefferson beat Bruce Randolph 32-22

FINAL:  Middle Park beat Sheridan 60-25

FINAL:  Manitou Springs beat Fountain Valley 53-32

FINAL:  Salida beat Bunea Vista 44-35

FINAL:  Eaton beat Strasburg 56-40

After an early season stumble against 2A power Lutheran, Denver Science is back on a roll.  The Knights have won seven straight overall and won three games by a combined 167 points last week.  They must avoid looking past tonight to a Friday date at Bennett in a game that may decide the Frontier championship.  The teams were expected to finish one-two in the conference this year.  Bennett will also try to avoid looking ahead but their road game at Clear Creek won’t be easy.  Classical Academy is tied with Manitou Springs for the early Tri Peaks West lead.  They’ll be favored tonight in their only game of the week.  The Titans meet Manitou Springs in the first of two meetings on January 23^rd.  Grand Valley is 4-2 in league play and is tied with three other teams in third one game back of Moffat County and Olathe.  Coal Ridge is one of those three teams so the winner stays in contention while the loser faces an uphill climb to get back into the championship discussion.

CLASS 2A

FINAL:  #5 Yuma beat Sterling 50-48

FINAL:  #8 Meeker beat Rangely 51-24

FINAL:  Liberty Common beat Nederland 65-2

FINAL:  Alexander Dawson beat Union Colony 42-26

FINAL:  Resurrection Christian beat Community Christian 32-27

Coming off quality road wins on Saturday, Yuma and Sterling collide in a very attractive non-league contest.  Yuma scored a nice victory over a vastly improved Highland squad in Ault on Saturday while Sterling made their Patriot League debut with an impressive 42-29 win at Estes Park.  Yuma stayed unbeaten on the season with their win while Sterling improved to 6-2.  Meeker and Rangely both lost to Western Slope favorite Paonia over the weekend so both the Cowgirls and Panthers look to rebound and stay in the championship chase.  A second league loss will likely eliminate the loser of tonight’s contest.  Meeker features two double-digit scorers in Taylor Neilson (11.0) and Kaysyn Chintala (10.1).  Chintala has also dropped in eight three-pointers on the season and averages nearly five steals per game.  Rangely’s top offensive threat is Quincey Thacker (14.4).

CLASS 1A

FINAL:  #1 Caliche beat Prairie 51-36

FINAL:  #3 Norwood beat Nucla 62-42

FINAL:  #10 Fleming beat Haxtun 50-31

FINAL:  Belleview Christian beat Rocky Mountain Lutheran 48-23

FINAL:  Peetz beat Briggsdale 47-43

FINAL:  Shining Mountain beat Denver Waldorf 51-11

Prairie has just one loss on the season but has yet to crack the top ten because of their schedule.  The difficulty of that slate goes up tremendously this week as the Mustangs face Caliche tonight and then Pawnee on Friday.  The game with Pawnee is actually more important because it serves as a conference game but if the Mustangs can at least split their two games this week, it may be enough for them to generate a top ten ranking.  Cracking the defensive pressure of Caliche will be important as the Buffs have given up more than 40 points only once all season.  Sophomore Shaylyn Johnson paces the Caliche offense with 16.9 points per game and she has scored at least 13 points in each contest.  Norwood’s defense is very similar.  The Mavericks have surrendered more than 40 points only twice and that mark could stay intact as they’ll be heavily favored against Nucla.  Fleming makes their top ten debut against a Haxtun team that continues to show improvement.  The Bulldogs enjoyed a win only once last season and just four times the previous season but enter tonight’s game with an even 3-3 record.  Fleming, which has won two straight, had a very important game with Pawnee postponed last Friday.  Belleview Christian and Rocky Mountain Lutheran each have just one loss and both are seeking statewide respect.  The Bruins made the state tournament two years ago but were eliminated by Gilpin County in the regional round last season.