Our look at the girls’ basketball big school conference races sets up a big week in Class 4A as league leaders in Jeffco, Longs Peak and Northern battle throughout the week. Class 5A could also crown their first champion as Valor Christian is within range of gaining the Jeffco title.
CLASS 4A
CS METRO NORTH: Falcon (5-0) continues to carry a one game lead on Classical Academy (4-1) with the only difference being the Falcons head-to-head win over the Titans. Both have beaten third place Sand Creek (3-2) with relative ease so it appears to be a two-team chase. Game two between the top clubs is set for this week and should determine the teams share the title or if the Falcons win it outright.
- Thursday: Classical Academy at Falcon
CS METRO SOUTH: First place Canon City (4-0) can finish off a sweep of the first round of league play by beating Mesa Ridge this week. The Tigers lead the Grizzlies and Coronado by one game in the league chase. More separation could occur two nights later as the two second place clubs also step on the same court together.
- Tuesday: Canon City at Mesa Ridge
- Thursday: Mesa Ridge at Coronado
JEFFCO: Green Mountain and D’Evelyn have had identical seasons to date. Both are 7-0 overall and 5-0 in league play and they enter the week one game up on Evergreen and Littleton (both 4-1). Several head-to-head matchups this week will create some changes in the standings. It starts on Monday with the big battle between the Rams and Jags to determine sole possession of first. Two more important games take place on Wednesday and a critical contest can also be found on Friday.
- Monday: D’Evelyn at Green Mountain
- Wednesday: Evergreen at D’Evelyn
- Wednesday: Green Mountain at Littleton
- Friday: D’Evelyn at Littleton
LONGS PEAK: We should get a tight race throughout the entire regular season as the top four teams are 5-1 overall with a fifth sitting at 4-2. Conference wise, Severance and Berthoud (3-0) share the lead with Roosevelt, Northridge and Thompson Valley just one game back. Severance has a huge week as they face three of those challengers over five days including a showdown with Berthoud. The Spartans also have a second conference game of note later in the week.
- Tuesday: Northridge at Severance
- Thursday: Berthoud at Severance
- Saturday: Severance at Roosevelt
- Saturday: Thompson Valley at Berthoud
WESTERN SLOPE: Battle Mountain and Rifle are both unbeaten through four games with a one game edge on Palisade (3-1) and Glenwood Springs (2-1). The two leaders meet each of the next two Saturday’s and pending other upsets, those games will determine the champion and automatic playoff club. Two other games will impact the top four spots.
- Tuesday: Palisade at Glenwood Springs
- Thursday: Rifle at Palisade
- Saturday: Battle Mountain Rifle
COLORADO: Weld Central (1-0) remains favored to land the title but early on they share first place with Eagle Ridge Academy (2-0). Those two leaders collide on February 25th. Eagle Ridge has a league date with third-place Aurora Central this week and lost to them 46-33 last Saturday in a non-conference matchup.
- Thursday: Eagle Ridge Academy at Aurora Central
NORTHERN: It’s a four-team race from this point on with Holy Family, Windsor, Mead and Erie entering the week with identical 3-0 marks. Every other league team has two or three leagues so the champion should come from the unbeaten group. Those four are a combined 20-3 overall as well. With four games featuring those teams facing off, some separation will finally occur this week. Windsor is involved in three of those games and if the Wizards pull out wins in all three, they can start thinking about hoisting the championship trophy.
- Monday: Windsor at Erie
- Wednesday: Erie at Holy Family
- Wednesday: Mead at Windsor
- Friday: Windsor at Holy Family
PIKES PEAK: Doherty (5-0) and Fountain Fort Carson (2-0) remain unbeaten with Air Academy (2-1) one game off the pace. Four other clubs are above five hundred overall but they’ve already dropped two league games (Palmer Ridge, Lewis Palmer, Liberty and Pine Creek). Doherty and FFC meet a week from Tuesday (23rd) so their job is to hold serve until then. Doherty beat Air Academy 44-40 last week and the Trojans face the Kadets on March 1st
SOUTH CENTRAL: Pueblo West trounced Pueblo County 55-22 last Thursday to gain sole possession of the conference lead. The Cyclones are 4-0 and appear to have a nice gap between all other clubs as they’ve won their first four league games by at least 25 points apiece. Game two with the Hornets is March 2nd. County (3-1) is alone in second by one game over Pueblo East and South. West faces Pueblo Central on Monday and Pueblo East on Thursday.
SOUTHWESTERN: Fruita Monument and Grand Junction (both 2-0) have the lead by one game over Montrose (1-1). Grand Junction Central began league play ranked 9th in Class 4A but they’ve stumbled with two opening losses and now must win out to have any chance. Fruita and Grand Junction meet this week and again on March 5th.
- Friday: Fruita Monument at Grand Junction
CLASS 5A
FRONT RANGE: Fossil Ridge (4-0) stands alone in first but Poudre, Horizon, Rocky Mountain and Monarch are all 3-1 and just a game out of the top spot. Of those four challengers, the Sabercats have beaten only Monarch thus far but face another this week. Poudre also has a tough week with games against Monarch and Horizon over a three-day span. Monarch picked up a good win over Rocky Mountain on Saturday (54-42) that kept them in contention.
- Wednesday: Poudre at Monarch
- Friday: Horizon at Rocky Mountain
- Friday: Fossil Ridge at Rocky Mountain
JEFFCO: Valor Christian (5-0) stayed alone in first last week with Ralston Valley (5-1) and Chatfield (4-1) continuing to serve as chasers. League play actually wraps up this week so we could crown a champion as early as Wednesday. Valor has already beaten Ralston Valley and if they topple Columbine on Monday, the Eagles then clinch the title by beating Chatfield two nights later. Even with a loss on Monday, the Eagle still wrap it up with wins over Chatfield and Bear Creek (Friday). Chatfield has a loss to Ralston Valley so must win out to have any chance at sharing the league crown.
- Wednesday: Valor Christian at Chatfield
CENTENNIAL: No surprise that Grandview (6-0) is alone atop the standings. The Wolves grabbed that spot with a win over Arapahoe last week. Both clubs were unbeaten in league play going in but now the Warriors are in a second-place tie with 4A Mullen (both 5-1). All others have at least three conference losses. The second-place tie will be broken on Wednesday as the Mustangs and Warriors collide in the first of two encounters. Then Mullen gets another crack at Grandview late in the week.
- Wednesday: Mullen at Arapahoe
- Friday: Grandview at Mullen
CONTINENTAL: Regis (5-0) has sole possession of the league lead following their win over Highlands Ranch last week. The Raiders lead the Falcons, Ponderosa and Chaparral by one game in the loss column. Of those three, the Raiders have just a game with Chaparral left on the schedule (March 5th). Highlands Ranch has beaten Chaparral and will face Pondo on March 3rd. Ponderosa and Chaparral face off this week.
- Thursday: Chaparral at Ponderosa
EAST METRO: Somewhat of a surprise in league play last week as Westminster handed Vista Peak their first loss of the season. That win kept the Wolves (1-0) unbeaten in league play and tied with Rangeview (3-0) and Northglenn (2-0). They face Rangeview on the 26th and Northglenn to close the season March 6th. The big game this week is between the Raiders and Norse.
- Thursday: Rangeview at Northglenn
DENVER PREP: There were several head-to-head matchups of top clubs last week and when the dust settled, George Washington (4-0) and Denver South (5-0) were tied for first with Far Northeast (2-1) alone in third. The two leaders meet on March 6th and that game should determine the league champion. Combined the Patriots and Ravens are 15-1.
