Girls basketball’s first round in Class 5A gave some shine to the state’s often maligned Selection and Seeding Index, going the way of the favored team in all but one of 16 games.
But hey, what a game it was.
Frederick, ranked 27th, went down to Monument and upended No. 6 Palmer Ridge 56-50 on the opening night of the postseason Tuesday.
The Golden Eagles, who won four of their final five games to nab one of the final spots in the classification’s state bracket, sealed their place in the round of 16 with eight straight free throws in the final minute against the Bears, including four in a row from Lauren Rosine.
They’ll look for another upset victory at No. 11 Canon City Friday night.
In this week’s look at the big classifications in girls basketball, we take a look at a few of the double-digit seeds who could have a deep playoff run in store following the opening round in the 6A, 5A and 4A classifications.
Class 5A
No. 27 Frederick: Peyton Pack and Megan Majeres hit successive 3s late in the third quarter and early into the fourth as the Golden Eagles (13-11) took the lead and never relinquished it down the stretch to beat the Pikes Peak League runner-up.
Battle tested coming out of a strong Longs Peak League, Frederick has the long-range shooting and a good enough defense to challenge the Tigers Friday, then possibly No. 3 Durango or No. 14 Pueblo West in the quarterfinals.
Pack and Majeres led the team in 3-point shooting during the regular season, hitting 36 and 30 from deep, respectively. The Golden Eagles made six or more 3s in 12 of their final 17 games prior to the postseason.
No. 12 Vista PEAK Prep: A school name that sounds as if it’s designed to startle someone — Vista PEAK Prep —the Bison (15-9) have the makeup to stun a few teams in these playoffs.
Winning eight of their final nine games in the regular season, they often crushed opponents by 30-40 points. Then in the opening round, they outscored No. 21 Standley Lake 39-19 in the second half for a 20-point victory.
In the latest win, Ashlyn Stapleton had 13 points and 14 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the winter. She also had four assists and six steals.
The Bison travel to No. 5 Mead Friday.
Class 4A
No. 19 Jefferson Academy: The Jaguars (15-9) flipped the script at No. 14 Coal Ridge in the opening round, rebounding from a 24-7 halftime deficit to hold the Titans to five points after the break in a 31-29 victory.
If momentum lasts for more than a night’s sleep, the Jags are a dangerous proposition, even with a tough test at No. 3 University in the second round Friday.
Allie Jo Kirkpatrick, a Concordia University St. Paul soccer commit, led the team with 10 points per game and 4.3 steals in the regular season.
No. 11 Peak to Peak: Big players show up in big moments, and few players are bigger in stature or hype in the class than Peak to Peak’s Alexandra Eschmeyer.
The touted 6-foot-4 sophomore scored 28 points and had 14 rebounds in a 60-31 opening round win over No. 22 Arrupe Jesuit. She had 14 made baskets to the Generals’ 13.
The Pumas (17-7) travel to No. 6 Eaton Friday.
Class 6A
No. 17 Legend: How to describe Legend without bringing up an image of a professor who looks like he last slept since the 80s? You can’t.
Grab some chalk and start frantically scribbling out a map — this to that, that to this — and you may see why the Titans are just at the start of a deep run in the bracket.
The Titans beat darling Arvada West in the first round. Start there.
The Wildcats, if you remember, handed Valor Christian its only in-state loss of the year at the beginning of the month. So, with the Titans beating the Wildcats, and now facing the No. 1 Eagles Friday, the reason for optimism for the Parker school should be in the math. Right?
Unless math isn’t all it’s cracked up to be …
Katie Lamb hit three 3s in the win over Arvada West. She has multiple makes from deep in 13 of 24 games this winter.
No. 12 Regis Jesuit: The Raiders are a 12-seed with the look of a state title contender.
Yes, they had eight losses during the regular season. But they also beat No. 4 Monarch, lost to No. 2 Cherry Creek by two and No. 1 Valor Christian by just seven.
After beating No. 21 Denver South by 36 in the opening round, the Raiders (16-8) now face No. 5 Cherokee Trail for the second time this season. They lost to the Cougars by 11 in December.
Hana Belibi led Regis Jesuit with 17.6 points and 8.1 rebounds during the regular season.
