CSCS girls basketball looking for Tri-Peaks sweep ahead of district tournament

With one game remaining on its regular-season schedule, Colorado Springs Christian’s girls basketball team has its eye on the (first) prize.

The Lions, ranked second in Class 3A in the most recent CHSAANow.com coaches poll, close out the 19-game regular season Thursday night against No. 7 The Vanguard School. With a victory, Colorado Springs Christian (17-1, 13-0) can clinch the 4A/3A Tri-Peaks League outright and run the table on one of the state’s toughest leagues.

Even after a 56-49 non-league loss to 6A Rangeview ended the team’s hopes of a perfect season, CSCS is still in great shape headed into next week’s district tournament. The eight district champions receive an automatic berth into the 32-team regional, while the other 24 teams have to await its collective fate. Only the 3A teams in the league play in the district tournament.

Four teams from the Tri-Peaks are currently ranked in the top 10 – St. Mary’s, by virtue of a 53-42 victory over Ellicott last Saturday, is now fourth. Ellicott is sixth, and Buena Vista is just outside the top 10. Another Tri-Peaks team, 4A Lamar, is 18-4 overall and 12-2 in the league.

The CSCS-Vanguard matchup is one of several top-10 showdowns over the final three days of the regular season. Unbeaten and top-ranked Peyton closes with No. 9 Yuma on Thursday and a 15-win Gilpin County team Friday.
In 2A, second-ranked Wiggins finishes the regular season at No. 7 Wray.

In 1A, new No. 10 Idalia has a brutal back-to-back with ninth-ranked Stratton and No. 5 Fleming. The Wildcats also have to go up against 2A No. 6 Sedgwick County.

Here is a quick look back, and ahead, at the Class 3A, 2A and 1A classifications going into the final three days of the regular season:

Class 3A

St. Mary’s used a strong second-half to down Ellicott last Saturday to remain in second place in the Tri-Peaks to CSCS. Freshman Jaela Pedro led the Pirates (15-3, 12-1) with 16 points, and senior Bailey Darneal added 15 points, six rebounds and six steals. Maeve Salveson had 12 points, six rebounds, five steals and four assists.

No. 3 Centauri locked up the Intermountain League with a 51-31 victory over 4A No. 8 Alamosa on Friday. The Falcons (17-2, 10-0) ran the table on the league by down Ignacio 70-39 one day later.

After a rough start to the season that saw the team drop six of its first eight games, Platte Valley finished with victories in 11 of its final 12 games. The No. 5 Broncos (13-7, 8-0 in 3A Patriot) swept the league with a 61-37 victory over No. 10 Brush last Tuesday. Bailey Meireis had 17 points, one of three players in double figures.

Grand Valley had its 13-game winning streak snapped with a 28-27 loss to North Fork. The eighth-ranked (13-4, 12-1 in Western Slope) can still capture the league title, holding a two-game lead with two games remaining.

Class 2A

Much like the Tri-Peaks, the Lower Platte League’s teams have beaten up on each other through the season. Merino’s 51-29 victory over 3A Yuma last Friday kept the Rams (16-2, 7-0) in first place with one game remaining. No. 2 Wiggins (13-5, 6-1) closes with Wray, while No. 6 Sedgwick County and Yuma are tied for third at 5-3. No. Akron can join them with a victory in its finale as well.

Sedgwick County (13-5, 5-3) has won nine of its last 11, with the only losses coming to Wiggins and Merino by six points apiece. The Cougars downed Yuma, Wray and 1A No. 2 Briggsdale last week, and close with 1A Fleming. Abigail Dille’s 20 points keyed a second-half rally in the 53-52 victory over Briggsdale.

Fifth-ranked Simla swept the Black Forrest League by down Calhan and Evangelical Christian last week. The Cubs (12-6, 4-0) finish up with 1A No. 6 Kit Carson.

No. 9 Heritage Christian scored a top-10 victory with a 57-44 victory over Wray last Saturday. The Eagles (14-4, 7-2 in Mile High) close with Denver Christian on Friday.

Class 1A

Only three teams are still unbeaten in the regular season, and McClave is one of those squads. The No. 3 Cardinals (17-0, 4-0 in High Plains) visit Wiley and Cheraw to finish up the season. The team added a pair of top-10 wins last week, downing Kit Carson and Fleming on consecutive nights.

Fleming fell to top-ranked Flatirons Academy 61-34 on Saturday, and still has contests with 2A’s Sedgwick County and No. 10 Idalia.

Though No. 2 Briggsdale fell by a point to Sedgwick County, the Falcons (15-2, 2-0 in North Central) can sweep their league with a victory over Prairie on Friday. Briggsdale also posted an 86-66 victory over No. 8 Kiowa last Saturday behind 25 points from Jenna Krise and 21 from Peyton Nicklas. Kendra Byrd and Jordan Perreault combined to score 52 of their team’s 66 points in the loss.