It’s going to be quite the week on the prep girls basketball scene.
From a pair of top-10 showdowns in Class 3A – starting with last Thursday night’s Tri-Peaks clash between No. 1 Colorado Springs Christian and No. 7 St. Mary’s – to two more huge matchups in the 2A classification Friday night, the landscape will look slightly different at this time next week.
The 4A/3A Tri-Peaks is at the heart of that change in 3A. CSCS (8-0, 5-0) got things started with a big 50-27 victory over the Pirates (5-3, 3-1). Friday night, No. 6 Ellicott (7-2, 4-2) visits Buena Vista (7-1, 3-1), which is trying to crack into the top 10 of the CHSAANow.com Coaches Poll.
Then the biggest matchup takes place Monday night in a non-league setting, as second-ranked Peyton faces No. 3 Vanguard School.
Friday night is a massive night in 2A, with two matchups between top-10 teams in the 3A/2A Lower Platte. Merino (6-1, 1-0), which catapulted to the top spot in the classification after two big victories last week, hosts fourth-ranked Wiggins (6-2, 1-0). No. 3 Akron (5-3, 1-0), which fell Thursday night to 1A’s No. 2 Briggsdale, hosts seventh-ranked Wray (5-3, 0-1).
The lone top-10 matchup in 1A takes place Friday night as well, with No. 4 Fleming hosting No. 10 Stratton.
Here is a brief look back at the previous week, and what lies ahead for Class 3A, 2A and 1A:
Class 3A
While Monday’s titanic clash between Peyton and Vanguard may not decide any league titles, it will give one team a leg up in its 3A title hopes. Vanguard has won five in a row, and Hailey Blanchard scored 32 of the team’s 105 points Tuesday against Florence. The senior finished with a triple-double, adding 11 steals and 10 assists.
Peyton stayed unbeaten with a victory over Salida on Thursday, with AJ Mannering scoring 19 points and Abbie Nickell adding 16.
Ellicott had to open Tri-Peaks play with CSCS and Vanguard in December, dropping both of those games, but has won four in a row. That includes Thursday’s 51-46 victory over Strasburg. Buena Vista had its seven-game winning streak to start the season snapped last Tuesday in a 45-34 loss to St. Mary’s.
No. 8 Ignacio needed two overtimes to get past Monte Vista 49-47 last Saturday. The Bobcats shot just 26 percent, but Harmony Reynolds’ 17 points and 13 rebounds helped push the team over the top.
Yuma joined the top 10 after victories over Highland and Brush. Lea Richardson is averaging 11.5 points a game.
Class 2A
Outside of the Lower Platte, other teams are making a splash. Mancos jumped up to No. 5 after its 2023 opener, downing Creede 64-20 to improve to 6-1. Freshman Claire Goodwin recorded a triple-double in the victory, scoring 26 points to go along with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Quincy Montoya added 24 for the Bluejays, who visit Sanford on Friday before hosting 1A No. 6 Dove Creek on Saturday.
No. 9 Hoehne (7-1) opens Santa Fe League play Friday night against Fowler. Eighth-ranked Limon (4-1, 1-0 Union Pacific) swept past three opponents last week, with Paige Hutsell notching double-doubles against both Genoa-Hugo/Karval and Dolores Huerta Prep.
Wray received a second chance at Burlington last Tuesday, and made the most of the opportunity. The Eagles handed the Cougars their first loss of the season 61-55, with Johanna Anderson scoring a game-high 22 points. Burlington’s Kiyarra Williams had 21 points and 18 rebounds in the loss.
Class 1A
McClave continued its impressive run through the first half of the season with victories over 2A Simla and Springfield. The No. 3 Cardinals (9-0, 1-0 in Hi-Plains League) limited Springfield to only 17 points on Thursday, posting 28 steals in the 44-17 rout. Freshman Abrielle Gomez had an impressive showing, finishing with 11 points, eight steals, six rebounds and five assists.
Second-ranked Briggsdale (6-0) looked the part of a championship hopeful after taking down Akron 64-50. The Falcons open North Central League play Saturday against Weldon Valley.
Top-ranked Flatirons Academy was handed its first loss of the season last Friday, falling 66-64 to 4A No. 7 Resurrection Christian. The Bison (7-1) fell behind by 14 points after the first quarter, but rallied to nearly pull the upset. Emma Cox had 29 points and 13 rebounds in defeat.
Like Briggsdale, Fleming (6-0) is also unbeaten, but has to get past Stratton before opening North Central play. The Wildcats rolled past Gilpin County and Lone Star last week.
Another undefeated team, fifth-ranked Kiowa, has a stiff test Friday night against 2A unbeaten Fountain Valley (7-0). The Indians (6-0) scored a big victory last Saturday with a 49-43 triumph over No. 7 Kit Carson. Jordan Perreault scored 21 points, and Kendra Byrd recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Sixth-ranked Dove Creek (6-2) starts 2023 on Friday night with a 2A/1A San Juan Basin tilt with Nucla, before visiting 2A’s fifth-ranked Mancos on Tuesday.
