Basketball is fully back this week. After the winter break and a small slate of early-January games, most teams are back in action, and there are several marquee matchups to pay attention to.
 

Erie – Roosevelt (Tuesday)

Holy Family – Erie (Wednesday)

We start off with two Tri-Valley league games at the start of the week. Undefeated Erie travels to Roosevelt on Tuesday night before playing Holy Family the next because of a Holy Family scheduling conflict that forced the game to move from Saturday.
Roosevelt comes into the matchup 4-2 after going 3-0 at their tournament a week ago. Those wins came against Steamboat Springs, Niwot, and 5A Grand Junction Central, the last by one point in overtime. Their two losses are from a solid 3A program in University and to Longmont, who Erie beat to open the season.
At the end of last season, Roosevelt had reason for optimism after going 13-12 and 7-9 in the tough Tri-Valley league with a very young core despite losing a lead guard in Kalea Corke. A good part of their young core, though – freshmen Natalia Puchino and Anastasia Zelenko – transferred to Severance and took their 13.6 points per game with them.
Roosevelt responded with junior Jennessa Archuleta coming into the role as their leading scorer (14 points per game) and the emergence of sophomore Mackenzie Sailors (11.5 points per game) after only playing in ten games a year ago and not attempting a shot (per MaxPreps).
As for #4 Erie, they are better than many people outside the program expected. They’re 8-0, and haven’t been in many close games. They have four players averaging double digits – junior transfer Genevieve “G” Gudino is averaging 14.3 PPG, sophomores Grace Moyers and Deb Altshuler are averaging 12.9 and 11.9 respectively, and junior forward Anna Hefner is good for 10 a game on the nose.
Erie’s usual fifth starter in Erie Morrow can score too, but more often does her damage elsewhere, leading the team in assists, steals, and blocks.
Erie takes the advantage into this game with the comparison win over Longmont, but Roosevelt is always a tough place to play, and the Roughriders should be ready to try to spoil Erie’s best start to the season since 2008-2009. If Erie wins, their 9-0 start will be the best in team history for the MaxPreps era.
The second, and slightly more intriguing game to us, comes when Holy Family travels to Erie on Wednesday. There is plenty of history between these two teams, as Erie’s leading scorer – transfer G Gudino – led Holy Family to the Final Four just a year ago – as their leading scorer. She made the decision to play for Erie this summer, and was cleared to play immediately instead of having to sit out a year. She was Holy Family’s leading scorer last year (14.9 points per game), and they lost her in addition to seniors Kaitlyn McKenzie, Amanda Ward, and Erin Winters. For the 3-4 Tigers, who ran through a brutal non conference gauntlet – featuring teams such as 5A Regis Jesuit, Arapahoe, Fossil Ridge, and Pine Creek,and 4A’s Pueblo West and Air Academy – and came out of it 2-4, with a win over Pine Creek and a surprisingly dominant win against Air Academy. They rolled over Frederick to begin conference play and take on Fort Morgan the day before the Erie matchup.
After the loss of several of their best players, others stepped up, specifically juniors Alyssa Wells and Tyler Whitlock, who combine for nearly half of Holy Family’s points a night.
To raise the stakes even more, Erie has never beaten Holy Family, but their best chance to do so is right before their eyes. And for Holy Family, a win over Gudino, who left, and a continuation of their winning streak, would be pretty sweet.
Fans, get your popcorn ready and be at Erie on Wednesday night. This one is a potential classic in the making.
 

Berthoud – Roosevelt (Saturday)

Windsor – Mead (Tuesday)

We continue with the other half of the Tri-Valley games on the list. Berthoud takes on Roosevelt on Saturday while Mead and Windsor face off on Tuesday. We took a look at the Roughriders in their matchup with Erie so we’ll look at Berthoud here. It’s a tough week for Roosevelt, as they meet two of the Tri-Valley’s best. Like Erie, Berthoud is 8-0, and has been consistently dominant, with only one game decided by single digits. They got there differently though, led by their two stars – Emily Cavey, the 6’0 wing who’s putting up 17.5 a game to start the season, and Breanna Fowler, who complements her with 13.4 a night. Ally Padilla shoots the lights out from deep (42%) to give the Spartans a solid third scorer. Cavey gets to the free throw line often and shoots 74%.
The Spartans will be favored, and if they and Erie both get through the week unscathed, it sets up a potential regular season game-of-the-year candidate next Tuesday in Berthoud.
We wrap up the games taking place north of Denver with Tuesday’s meeting between Windsor and Mead. At first glance, the matchup appears relatively even, but a closer look at the stats may indicate otherwise. Mead comes into their home game at an even 4-4 and Windsor enters at 3-4. However, the Wizards have lost to better teams (with the possible exception of 3A powerhouse and title favorite St. Mary’s) and beaten better teams, while not getting blown out too often. Mead had no answer for St. Mary’s, falling 81-33 on the road. Their scoring correlates fairly well with their wins – when they score more than 50, they’re 3-1, when scoring less than 50, they’re 1-3. The Wizards don’t have full stats entered except for points, where they’re led by Kylee Sanger, who puts up 13.6 per game. As for Mead, sophomore Maddox Boston leads them with 11.3 a night. The Mavericks though average 10 points less than Windsor a game.
The Wizards will be favored, but if Mead can pull off the upset, they probably need a big night from Boston on both ends of the floor and to use their home-court advantage to the fullest.
 

Sand Creek – Denver South (Wednesday)

We head to Denver for our next game – and it should be a dandy. The 6-1 Sand Creek (Colorado Springs) Scorpions travel north to take on the 7-2 Denver South Rebels for South’s first home game of the season. The Rebels’ two losses came to Fossil Ridge in a blowout in an early-December tournament as well as a close loss to Ralston Valley. South has four players who will do most of the work – taking just over 92% of their shots from the field. Of the four, it is junior point guard Timiya Guevara who does the most, averaging about 23 per game, and adds an eye-opening 6.3 steals a night . The Rebels aren’t afraid to shoot from deep, and Carly Dilworth (55%) will make most of her open looks. They also have 214 steals as a team, good for an incredible 23.8 per game.
Guard-heavy Sand Creek should be up to the challenge, with four players in double digits, including junior Nikki Derell and freshman TiAna Davis, who average 17.1 and 14 points per contest respectively. Their only loss came to an 8-1 5A Cherokee Trail team that has several other good wins this season. The Scorpions are very capable of scoring bursts, scoring 75 a game as a team, and they play a good bit of defense too, allowing 119 points less than South on the season, albeit in two fewer games.
They can also challenge the Rebels in the takeaways department, getting 17 steals a game. They get to the free throw line just a bit more, and shoot 14% better than the Rebels do from the charity stripe. Davis is especially proficient, hitting 84% of hers.
When the smaller Scorpions crash the glass, it’s Krystina Hagood coming up with the ball more often than not, grabbing about 9 rebounds per game with four double-doubles on the season.
We’ll give the Rebels the slight edge in their home opener, but if Sand Creek takes care of the ball, don’t be surprised if they come out on top.
 

Wheat Ridge – Green Mountain (Wednesday)

Wednesday’s last game on our list comes from Jefferson County, where Wheat Ridge takes its 5-2 record into their first true road game against 8-1 Green Mountain.
The Farmers played in the Westminster Winter Classic, going 2-1, and have played a handful of other non-conference games, most notably with a win over 5A Pomona and a loss to 5A  Arvada West.
They are led offensively by Mahipiya Wi and Wakiyan Wi Irving, who post 19.7 and 11 points per game respectively, although neither of the duo has played since their December 5th win over Mountain Range. Without them, Jillian Begren has stepped up and is averaging around 10 points a night on the season, and a bit over 13 without the Irvings’.
Green Mountain jumped out to an 8-1 record with a collection of blowouts, a close and good win against Broomfield, and a close loss to 4A #2 Pueblo West. Their best other win comes over 6-6 Pueblo County.
Freshman Jayda Maves leads the way scoring-wise, averaging 11.4 PPG, and her scoring is complemented by four other players all above 7 a night. Maves is also the three-point shooter for the Rams, knocking down 50% of her looks with a good sample size. Senior Courtney Hank cleans up on the boards, getting a hair over 6 rebounds per game.
If Wheat Ridge doesn’t have the Irvings’ again for this one, Maves and the Rams should be favored in this JeffCo league opener.
 

Eaglecrest – Mullen (Friday)

Friday has four good ones, and we’ll start it off with an entertaining 4A-5A battle between Mullen and Eaglecrest.
The 5A Raptors will have their hands full as 4A’s #1 Mullen is one of the best teams in the state, not just 4A. Eaglecrest comes in at 7-2 with two very close losses (by a combined six points) to Chaparral and Fountain-Fort Carson. They have good wins over Rangeview and Far Northeast, as well as others.
Jadyn Ross (13.1 PPG) and Laci Roffle (12.3 PPG) lead Eaglecrest in scoring and in several other categories as well. Roffle is second on the team in rebounding. Ross has 17 assists, best on the team. Roffle has 35 steals and 10 blocks and Ross has 23 steals for a nice 1-2 defensive punch for the Raptors.
Mullen might be 6-3, but don’t let their record fool you, the Mustangs can play with almost anyone in Colorado. They have a 7 point loss to Regis Jesuit in a game that they had a chance to win, and they went 2-2 at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix. They had no trouble winning the Castle View/ThunderRidge Tournament at the beginning of the year, too.
Only Imani Perez is scoring in double digits, but that should change sooner rather than later as players see their stats go up with in-state play. Megan Pohs, Elaina Martinez, and Gracie Gallegos (9.7, 8.3, 7.6 PPG) are all players who should get a boost in stats as the year continues. Pohs and Martinez will beat you from behind the arc, as both shoot just under 40%, and Perez will dominate the paint for a well-rounded Mullen team. Perez is also a defensive force in the paint, with 15 blocks on the season.
Despite Eaglecrest having the better record, Mullen should be the favorites at home.
 

Skyview – Ponderosa (Friday)

We continue south to Parker where the 7-2 Skyview Wolverines travel south to face the 8-1 Ponderosa Mustangs.
The #8 Mustangs opened the season 8-0 with two quality wins over Skyline and Falcon before falling to 5A Vista Peak 61-50 last Friday. They take on Northfield on Tuesday before hosting Skyview.
Offensively, Ponderosa is led by the inside and out duo of Katherine Higgins and Liberty Line. Line shoots it at a 42% clip from deep while Higgins gets most of her 18.2 PPG from the post.
Higgins and Line are also the leading rebounders for the Mustangs, averaging 9.1 and 7.8 a game respectively.
Ponderosa outscores Skyview on average by about 15 points per night. This will be the second true road game for the Wolverines and the second home game for the Mustangs.
Skyview’s two losses are from a solid 4A team in Greeley Central and a 5A Rock Canyon squad. They have wins against Westminster and Skyline, among others.
Thalia Guardiola packs a good part of Skyview’s scoring punch, putting up 11.2 points per game. She also leads the team in steals with about 4 a game.
Another Wolverine to watch is senior forward Casandra Olivas, who averages around 8 points and rebounds a night. They also play on Tuesday night against 3A Manual.
Based off scores from their matchups against Skyline and home court advantage , Ponderosa should be the favorite.
 

Air Academy – Palmer Ridge (Friday)

We continue the southward trend to Monument where the Palmer Ridge Bears host the #6 Air Academy Kadets.
Palmer Ridge has quietly gotten off to an excellent start at 6-2 with their only losses coming to Kansas teams in Garden City and Trinity Academy, and with good wins over The Classical Academy and Liberty.
Senior guard Eden Bonser leads the Bears offensively with 14.3 points per game, complemented by sophomore Mia Womack and her 10.9 PPG. The duo are the only Bears to attempt more than ten threes on the season.
Bonser also leads Palmer Ridge with 30 assists and 23 steals so far, and junior Hannah Dove leads them with 4.6 rebounds per game.
Air Academy is off to a 5-2 start with big wins against TCA and Palmer, and tough losses to Holy Family and Pueblo West.
They are led by CU commit Kylee Blacksten who averages around 15 PPG, and Annie Louthan and Brianna Sealy both chip in 8.3 a night. Sealy and Blacksten get most of the Kadets’ rebounds, with 6.4 and 6.1 per game respectively. Louthan also has 34 steals on the season to lead Air Academy.
Based off their point differential against TCA, Air Academy is the favorite to win this league matchup.
 

George Washington – Pueblo County (Friday)

We end the first week back with 6-2 George Washington’s trip to 6-6 Pueblo County.
The Hornets played a December-heavy schedule, with this matchup against the Patriots their last nonconference game. They had tough losses against 5A’s ThunderRidge and Broomfield at the ThunderRidge Tournament, and they also have two overtime losses from their last game of 2019 and first game of 2020. Some of their best wins are over Steamboat Springs and Grand Junction.
Offensively, the Hornets only score 25 points a night and senior Erin Mauro averages around 10 of those to go with her 7 rebounds per game. Junior Rose Weimar is County’s other scorer, putting up about 8 points a night and gets 6 rebounds per game. Mauro also has 36 steals on the season.
The 6-2 Patriots, however, are the #9 team in 4A and score 59 PPG. They went 2-2 at the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas, with wins over Mark Keppel (CA) and Vanden (CA) before falling to Desert Hills (UT) and Central (CA).
Freshman Jaida Redwine leads them with 18.5 points per game with 5.6 boards, and junior Maya Whiteside adds 12.6 a night while notching around 7 rebounds. They also play well defensively as a team, racking up 21 steals per game, with most of those distributed between Redwine and senior Iyahnni Qualls.
George Washington is favored by the numbers and will try to stay undefeated in Colorado in this one.