The upcoming week is all about making a final push toward a league championship.
With only eight days remaining in the regular season – and districts set to be completed the following weekend – the next several days will offer up some big matchups in Class 3A, 2A and 1A girls basketball.
Even as Peyton moved past Colorado Springs Christian for the top spot in the most recent 3A CHSAANow.com coaches poll, CSCS has a chance to run the table in the loaded Tri-Peaks League. The Lions close out against No. 8 The Vanguard School next Thursday, while No. 6 St. Mary’s tries to keep its hopes of a title share alive when it hosts No. 4 Ellicott on Saturday.
In 2A, No. 1 Merino needs a victory over 3A’s No. 7 Yuma to wrap up the Lower Platte League crown, though No. 2 Wiggins is right behind the Rams.
In 1A, No. 3 McClave held off No. 9 Kit Carson 53-48 on Thursday night to maintain its perfect mark in the High Plains – and overall.
Flatirons Academy remained No. 1 overall with a 53-47 non-league thriller with No. 2 Briggsdale last Saturday.
Here is a quick look back, and ahead, at the 3A, 2A and 1A classifications going into the final eight days:
Class 3A
It’s a big week in both the Tri-Peaks and Intermountain leagues. St. Mary’s kept the pressure on Colorado Springs Christian with its 61-48 victory over The Vanguard School on Tuesday. The Pirates (13-3, 10-1) have a ½-game lead on the Coursers, Lamar and Ellicott (each 10-2 in league), with an important contest Saturday against No. 4 Ellicott.
Maeve Salveson led St. Mary’s with 23 points in the victory over The Vanguard (13-4). Juliana Garcia had 19 points for the Coursers, who upended No. 10 Fountain Valley 71-47 on Thursday night.
Third-ranked Centauri will try and close out the Intermountain on Friday when it visits 4A No. 9 Alamosa. The Falcons (15-2, 8-0) have won 12 in a row, including a 51-37 victory over Alamosa (14-4, 6-10) when the two teams met for the first time back on Jan. 21.
No. 7 Yuma dropped a pair of Lower Platte contests in the past week, falling to Wiggins and Sedgwick County. The team visits 2A No. 1 Merino on Friday and hosts Peyton on Wednesday. The Panthers (16-0) swept past its three opponents last week.
No. 5 Platte Valley can lock up the 3A Patriot League with a victory over Brush on Tuesday. The Broncos (11-7, 8-0) earned a big victory last Tuesday, 53-28 over 4A No. 7 Resurrection Christian. Bree Bunting scored a game-high 25 points.
No. 9 Grand Valley, winners of 12 in a row, have already clinched at least a share of the Western Slope League title. The Cardinals (12-3, 11-0) have a three-game lead with three WSL contests remaining.
Class 2A
After back-to-back losses nearly three weeks ago, Wiggins had a chance to catch its breath. The Tigers played just one game over the next 12 days – a 50-44 victory over Sedgwick County. That break seemed to give Wiggins a boost, as the team took down Yuma, Caliche and third-ranked Akron in a span of just five days.
Wiggins (12-5, 5-1 in the Lower Platte) still has a chance for a tie atop the league standings if Yuma can upend No. 1 Merino on Friday. The Tigers would still need to close out the season with a victory over No. 4 Wray on Feb. 16.
Sophomore Riley Hunt led three players in double figures with 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the 46-33 victory over Yuma, which shot just 24 percent. Kennedy Kerr led the way with 25 points in the 68-35 rout of Caliche, and Kerr and Hunt each had 13 in a 44-25 triumph over Akron.
Merino (14-2, 6-0) took down Akron and No. 9 Sedgwick County on consecutive nights to maintain its lead in the Lower Platte. The Rams’ showdown with Yuma (10-5, 4-2) highlights the upcoming week.
Limon fell out of the top 10 after a 42-32 loss to Wray, but the Badgers earned an upset of then-No. 2 Burlington in Union Pacific battle the next night. Limon (10-5, 4-0) got a boost from Brynlyn Owens’ 16 points in a 51-48 victory to move closer to a league title.
Trinitee Holmes led the Cougars (11-4, 4-1) with 23 points. Burlington took down 1A Stratton 49-40 on Thursday night, handing the Eagles their first league loss.
Wray (9-5, 2-3) has top-10 league matchups Friday with Sedgwick County – which defeated Yuma 53-45 on Thursday night – and next Thursday against Wiggins.
No. 6 Dayspring Christin Academy (11-4, 6-0 in Mile High) can all but lock up the league title Friday against Denver Christian (12-4, 6-1). The Eagles’ only two losses in 2023 have come to 1A’s top-ranked Flatirons Academy.
No. 7 Sanford, which has won seven in a row, is tied atop the Southern Peaks standings with Del Norte.
Fowler ended No. 10 Hoehne’s 11-game winning streak Thursday night with a 53-51 victory to create a tie for first place in the Santa Fe League.
Class 1A
Flatirons Academy fell behind early to Briggsdale in the top-two showdown, but a huge second-quarter sparked the Bison to the 53-47 victory. Emma Cox had a double-double of 13 points and 14 rebounds for Flatirons Academy (17-1) and Emily Dehaan also scored 13 points.
Jenna Krise paced the Falcons (13-1) with 20 points. Briggsdale bounced back from its first loss with two routs Monday and Tuesday. The team is at No. 6 Kiowa on Saturday and faces 2A Sedgwick County on Monday.
Speaking of Kiowa, the Indians (14-2) dropped their second game of the season with a 43-34 loss to Gilpin County on Monday.
Fourth-ranked Fleming finished second to Briggsdale in the North Central, but the Wildcats (10-3) still have some huge tests remaining. Fleming travels to No. 3 McClave on Friday before hosting No. 1 Flatirons Academy on Saturday.
McClave (15-0, 4-0 in High Plains League) needs only to defeat Cheraw on Feb. 17 to wrap up the league crown. Prior to its loss Thursday night, Kit Carson (10-5, 2-2) had knocked off Cheraw and Idalia in overtime.
No. 8 Stratton had won seven in a row before falling to 2A Burlington on Thursday night. The Eagles (10-5, 4-1 in Union Pacific) still have 2A No. 8 Simla and Limon on its schedule, along with Idalia.
No. 10 Sangre de Cristo (14-2, 4-0 in Southern Peaks), which fell to McClave on Tuesday, will take on Sierra Grande (9-6, 4-0) on Friday for the league title.
