When looking through the Class 3A girls’ basketball schedule for the week, several important games can be found but all pale in comparison the Saturday showdown of #1 Colorado Springs Christian and #2 St Mary’s. The game is a rematch of last year’s state final and most experts feel it’s a preview of the championship game later this year.
Because of proximity there’s quite a bit of history between the Pirates and Lions and the players are very familiar with one another. St Mary’s took two of three matchups a year ago; winning the regular season matchup 44-41 and the state championship battle 44-38. In between, Colorado Springs Christian collected a 35-34 win in the Tri Peaks District tournament final.
Saturday’s game is the first of possibly another three battles this year as the two are also expected to face off again in the District championship and again in the state final. The teams this year have traded the top two spots in the weekly CHSAA rankings with the Lions holding down the top spot this year.
Through 11 games this year, St Mary’s has outscored opponents by 383 points and has quality wins over Resurrection Christian, Pagosa Springs, University and Lutheran. All came by at least 19 points. Colorado Springs has also picked up wins over Pagosa Springs (18) and Lutheran (12) by double digits. With those results in mind, the Pirates and Lions seem to be a step ahead of all others in Class 3A this year.
Pirate junior guard Josephine Howery played a prominent role in all three games a year ago. She tallied 14 points in the state championship win and dropped in a team-best 16 in the regular season win. Howery also managed 14 points in the district tournament loss. Howery is the top scorer for St Mary’s this year averaging 21 points per game.
Seneca Hackley (13.2) and Catherine Cummings (11.5) also average in double figures. Brooklyn Valdez (7.5) is fourth in scoring. Hackley totaled 17 points in three games with CSCS last year and Cummings appeared in just one of the three games and did not score in the state final. Valdez scored 11 points in the regular season win over the Lions last year and six in the state final.
The Colorado Springs Christian duo of Megan Engesser and Rachel Ingram combine for 44 points and 15 rebounds a game. They manage those numbers despite being almost the entire focus of every defense they face. Engesser scored 16 in the regular season loss and 21 in the state championship game. Ingram picked up 11 in the regular season but was limited to just eight in the finals.  They went for 15 and 10 in the district championship win.
Two other crucial players for CSCS are Corrie Anderson (8.8) and Elleah Hoekert (8.7). Hoekert is just a freshman so it will be interesting how she will respond to the biggest game of her young career. The same can be said for St Mary’s standout freshman Ellie Hartman who contributes 6.5 points per game.
Sitting behind Colorado Springs Christian and St Mary’s in the Tri Peaks race are one loss teams Manitou Springs, Lamar and Salida. Manitou Springs has already beaten Salida and they face Lamar on Saturday. A win there puts the Mustangs in great shape to finish no worse than third in the league race. Salida will have difficulty keeping pace this week as they host St Mary’s on Wednesday.
Wednesday also marks the biggest game in the Metro this week as Skyview Academy (4-0) meets Lutheran (3-1). Skyview Academy is alone in first with Lutheran sharing second place with Faith Christian, Colorado Academy and Prospect Ridge.
While the Lions trail in the standings, they must be considered the favorite as they crushed Skyview Academy 78-37 in non-league play back in December. The Lions won the second quarter 23-6 and the third 24-10 on their way to the 41-point win. Four players reached double figures as Stephanie Schultz scored 16, Kate Webster 15, Kaitlyn Kyle 12 and Sara Larson 10. Skyview got 18 from Hannah Banko and 10 from Natalia Miller-Forrest.
Skyview Academy has won eight straight the since the loss including a hard-fought 47-46 win over Kent Denver last week. They led by 10 after three and hung on for the one-point decision. Lutheran was upset by Faith Christian last week but they remain the favorite to land the league championship at years end.
Prospect Ridge also goes to Faith Christian on Friday so more league standings separation will occur there. Colorado Academy has just one game on the schedule this week as they go to Peak to Peak on Wednesday.
Despite not stepping on the court, Pagosa Springs gained sole possession of the Intermountain lead on Tuesday night. That’s because Alamosa took out Bayfield; giving the Wolverines their first league loss. Those two teams are now tied with Centauri (all one loss) in second place.
Alamosa, according to the Durango Herald, picked up 15 points from Emily Lavier and 13 from sister Lily. They host the Wolverines again on Saturday as Tuesday’s game was a make-up from an earlier postponement.
Maybe the more important game for Alamosa is Friday against Centauri. That winner will stay one game back of first place Pagosa Springs. Centauri bounced back from the Pagosa loss by upending Montezuma Cortez 57-34. They outscored the Panthers 36-17 over the second and third quarters and limited them to just 28 percent shooting from the field.
Pagosa Springs should be able to keep their perfect league record intact as they’re at home against Bayfield and Montezuma Cortez on Friday and Saturday. The Pirates are in great shape for a league title thanks to the 58-40 road win over Centauri last week. The rematch is set for February 1st.
With Liberty Common falling to Platte Valley on Tuesday, Eaton now stands alone in the Patriot lead.  Platte Valley helped the Reds by downing Liberty Common 44-32 as freshmen Brooke Bunting (16) and Cora Schissler (15) combined for 31 points. They also combined for five three-pointers. The game marked the first league loss for the Eagles and the two teams are now tied with Eaton and Resurrection Christian for second place. Resurrection Christian and Eaton were scheduled to play on Tuesday as well but the game was postponed due to road conditions and will be made up Wednesday night.
Eaton meantime moved to 5-0 with an easy 71-25 win over Valley. It was their sixth straight win overall. Bailee Duncan scored 16 points and Addie Randel 11. Ahana Leffler and Micheala Hill each chipped in 10. Next up for the Reds is a good test at home with Brush on Friday.
The Beetdiggers, as mentioned, will start the game just one game back of the league leaders. Brush has won their last two; downing Sterling 59-42 and Valley 85-34. Amber Wolever had 15 in the Sterling win and led 11 players in the scoring column. Amanda Carmin added nine and Brooklyn Cox eight. Against Valley, Wolever again topped the list with 21 points followed by Carmin and Kenzie Kraich with 14 and Kendall Elliott with a dozen.
The crucial game out west is Thursday night between Delta and Grand Valley. Delta opens the contest tied with Moffat County atop the standings while Grand Valley is part of a three-way tie for second with Roaring Fork and Coal Ridge. All three challengers have just one league loss.
Delta stayed perfect in the conference (3-0) with a solid win at Coal Ridge last week. Keely Porter scored 18 points with six rebounds and Sara Geddes provided 10 points and eight ‘boards. Missa Webb also helped defensively with four steals.
Grand Valley came up short in Craig to Moffat County (40-37) last Friday but evened their league mark to 1-1 the next night with a blowout of Aspen. Shaya Chenoweth dropped in 17 points against Moffat County but was limited to just seven shots overall. Jordyn Pittman added nine points and Bailey Radel seven.
Moffat County (4-0) is favored at Basalt on Saturday and a win assures them of at least a tie for the top spot by the weekend. They will be alone in first with a win if Grand Valley knocks off Delta.
Academy and Middle Park are both 4-0 and tied for the Frontier lead. They meet a week from Wednesday (January 30th) and that game could decide the top two spots. Academy continues to play very good basketball as they rolled Pinnacle 63-25 on Tuesday. The Wildcats are up to seventh in the RPI standings and are the highest ranked team from the conference since the Final Four days of Denver Science. Middle Park has won five in a row since a loss to Skyview Academy.
In the Confluence, Strive Prep may be the favorite. They’re 3-0 and tied with Eagle Ridge Academy (1-0) for the early lead. Strive Prep is the highest ranked league team in the RPI (29th) and also collected an important win over Lotus School (32-25) last week. Eagle Ridge Academy is 39th in RPI and squarely on the bubble unless they win the conference championship.
