It’s a very important week for girls basketball teams in Classes 1A, 2A and 3A as there are several games pitting first place teams against one another. In most cases, the winner will clinch or move very close to league championships while in others, the winner will have some key games remaining over the final two weeks. Colorado Preps breaks down each conference race with scenarios still in place.
CLASS 1A
5280: Flatirons Academy (3-0) is on their way to the championship as they’ve beaten second place teams Rocky Mountain Lutheran and Front Range Baptist by a combined 114 points. Front Range Baptist goes to Rocky Mountain Lutheran on Friday and that game should determine the runner-up spot.
BLACK FOREST: Simla’s win over Kiowa last week kept the Cubs tied for the conference lead with Evangelical Christian. Both teams are 3-0 with Elbert (3-1) and Kiowa (2-1) both one game back in the standings. Two games feature those four teams this week as Simla heads to Elbert on Wednesday and then Kiowa goes to ECA on Friday. If both Simla and ECA get wins; their head-to-head meeting in the final week will decide the top two spots.
FISHERS PEAK: La Veta is the league champion as they clinched the crown with their win over Primero. They are 7-8 overall on the season.
HIGH PLAINS: McClave took a major step the championship by beating Cheyenne Wells last week. The Cardinals now stand alone in first by one game over the Tigers (3-1) and Cheraw (2-1) and need just one more win to clinch the championship. But that will have to wait until next week when they face Wiley on the 17th and Granada on the 18th. Cheraw and Cheyenne Wells also meet on the 18th and that game could determine second and third.
NORTH CENTRAL: Briggsdale (2-0) leads Fleming and Prairie (both 2-1) by one game. They’ve beaten Fleming and face Prairie on the 18th. Non-conference action grabs most of the league’s attention this week as Fleming visits Flatirons Academy and Briggsdale hosts Sedgwick County; both games on Saturday. Briggsdale could also get pushed by Lone Star on Tuesday in another Top 10 clash.
SOUTHERN PEAKS: It’s still very early in this chase with Sangre De Cristo and Sierra Grande sharing the league lead (1-0). They meet on Friday and that will likely determine the top two spots. Sangre is favored and if they get the win, then the Saturday battle between Sierra Grande and Centennial could determine second and third.
YWKC: Lone Star is the league champion and Idalia has clinched second. Both are ranked in the top 10 again this week.
ARK VALLEY: Kim/Branson (2-0) and South Baca (3-0) are co-leaders and both clubs have identical 12-2 overall records. They meet this Friday with the winner landing the top district seed as well. Kim/Branson also goes to third place Springfield on the 18th. South Baca has a win over the Longhorns already.
NON-CONFERENCE: It’s a god week of non-conference games in Class 1A.
- TUESDAY: Lone Star at Briggsdale
- SATURDAY: Fleming at Flatirons Academy
- SATURDAY: Simla at Stratton
- SATURDAY: Sedgwick County at Briggsdale
CLASS 2A
BLACK FOREST: Peyton (1-0) is alone in first as Calhan, Colorado Springs School, Fountain Valley and Dolores Huerta all have one league loss. Peyton has a win over DH Prep and visits both Colorado Springs (Monday) and Fountain Valley (Wednesday) this week. They toppled Calhan in non-league action last week and play them again for the conference pairing on the 19th.
SANTA FE: Rye continues to dominate as they rolled past Hoehne last week. Both teams were tied for the conference lead going in but the Thunderbolts earned the 32-point win. They’re 11-0 and have outscored league rivals by 505 points. Rye visits Hoehne again on Tuesday with the Thunderbolts clinching the championship with a win. Swink, Fowler and Rocky Ford (all 3 losses) are tied for third. Fowler hosts Hoehne on Thursday and then Rocky Ford visits Swink on Saturday.
SOUTHERN PEAKS: Sanford (5-0) shares the top spot with Sargent (3-0) and those two pair up on Thursday in Sargent. Both will be ranked going in as the Farmers made their first appearance in the top 10 this week. Monte Vista (2-1) and Del Norte (3-1) share third place and they will break that tie on Tuesday in Del Norte.
LOWER PLATTE: Holyoke (5-0) stayed alone in first by beating Merino. The Rams also came up short to Sedgwick County on Friday so they start the week at 4-2 and in third place. Sedgwick County (4-1) is alone in second but will need help in catching Holyoke since they lost the conference matchup with the Dragons. Wray (2-2) shares third place with Merino but still has a difficult schedule. They head to Sedgwick County on Thursday and also battle Wiggins on Saturday.
SAN JUAN: Dove Creek (4-0) is alone in first and leads Dolores (1-1) by one game in the league standings. Overall the 1A Bulldogs needs just two more wins to clinch the championship and they can do so this week. First up, they host Ignacio on Tuesday and then stay at home to face Dolores on Saturday. They beat both teams in first meetings. Dolores is also trying to hold onto the second spot but they have a tough test with Ignacio on the road this Wednesday.
UNION PACIFIC: Limon clinched the league championship by beating Burlington 54-20 on Saturday. The Badgers are unbeaten in league play and have just one league game remaining with Byers on Friday. They also go to Fowler on Saturday. Despite the loss over the weekend, Burlington has wrapped up second as they lead Stratton and Byers by one game and has beaten both clubs in league play.
WEST CENTRAL: Custer County and Cotopaxi head to the week without a league loss and battling for the championship. The race will be settled on Thursday as they gather in Westcliffe. The loser will not fall farther than second.
WESTERN SLOPE: Soroco (8-0) continues to lead the race by one game over Cedaredge (8-1) and by two over North Park (5-2) and Meeker (4-2). The Rams have beaten both Cedaredge and Meeker but won’t tangle with North Park until the 18th. That game may not matter in the title picture as the Rams may wrap it up before then. In fact they can do so with a win over Hayden on Friday if Meeker also beats Cedaredge. Meeker is coming off a loss to North Park on Saturday and must beat Cedaredge to have any chance at earning a piece of second place.
MILE HIGH: The first place tie between Dayspring Christian (7-0) and Heritage Christian (6-0) will be broken when they meet Thursday in Fort Collins. Those two clubs lead Highland (5-1) by one game in the loss column. Since Heritage Christian has a win over the Huskies; a victory over Dayspring this week puts them in a great shape for the title. Dayspring Christian still has a date with Highland on the 15th that will help sort out the top three spots.
NON-LEAGUE: Three games on the schedule this week that will impact RPI standings and postseason bracketing.
- TUESDAY: Centauri at Sanford
- FRIDAY: Sanford at Ignacio
- SATURDAY: Dayspring Christian at Peyton
CLASS 3A
INTERMOUNTAIN: Standings and scenarios are exactly the same in the girls race as the boys division that we laid out in another story. Centauri knocked off Alamosa on Saturday to create a two-way tie for the top spot with Pagosa Springs still lurking just one game back in third. The Pirates go to Centauri this Friday and must win to stay in the race since they’ve lost twice to Alamosa. If Centauri wins, then their rematch with Alamosa next week (15th) will crown the champion.
METRO: Lutheran (8-0) and Skyview Academy (6-0) continue to set the pace with Colorado Academy (5-1) alone in third place. The two leaders meet in Parker on Saturday and the Lions are probably despite losing ground in the statewide rankings this week. Lutheran is the defending state runner-up and may be under-ranked at this stage of the season. They are unbeaten against 3A clubs with losses to 5A rivals Legend and Chaparral and 4A ranked Holy Family. Colorado Academy and Skyview Academy were slated to meet on January 25th but no score has been reported to MaxPreps. That game, if played or rescheduled, will have a direct impact on the top three spots as well.
PATRIOT: Platte Valley (6-0), Eaton (6-0) and University (6-1) will finish with the top three spots and their head-to-head battles will determine the order. The first of those three games took place last week with Eaton topping University 55-50. Next up is this Tuesday as Platte Valley goes to Eaton with the Reds clinching the championship with a win. If Platte Valley grabs the win, the Broncos still need to beat University on the 15th to wrap it up.
TRI PEAKS: St Mary’s and Vanguard (both 8-0) have a two-game edge on Colorado Springs Christian (7-2) and Ellicott (6-2) so the title will be decided on Tuesday. That’s when St Mary’s and Vanguard finally get together.
WESTERN SLOPE: Delta (5-0) is alone in first with Moffat County (4-1) and Grand Valley (3-1) trailing by one game in the loss column. Moffat County has already split two games with the other two; beating Grand Valley but coming up short to Delta. They will watch with great interest on Friday as Delta goes to Grand Valley. A Grand Valley win leaves all three teams sharing first place. Delta, while not official, basically wraps up the crown if they get the victory.
CONFLUENCE: Addenbrooke Academy (3-0) is alone in first with a one game edge on Lotus School (5-1) and DSST-Byers (3-1). There is only one game remaining among the top three and that takes place on Friday when DSST-Byers goes to Addenbrooke. Addenbrooke beat Lotus 41-38 last month and will move close to the title with a win this week. Lotus has a win over DSST-Byers (43-20) from last week.
FRONTIER: The race again comes down to the head-to-head meeting between Bennett and Academy. Both teams are 8-0 with a two-game edge on third place Arrupe Jesuit (6-2). Bennett hosts Academy on Thursday. The Wildcats clinch the championship with a win while the Tigers would need one more victory to pick up the top trophy.
NON-LEAGUE: Games on this list this week involves 3A clubs stepping up against quality teams from other divisions.
- TUESDAY: Centauri at Sanford
- TUESDAY: Colorado Springs Christian at Mesa Ridge
- TUESDAY: Fruita Monument at Delta
- THURSDAY: George Washington at Lutheran
