Four top 10 matchups can be found on the Friday girls’ basketball schedule with the main attraction pitting #1 University against #4 Lutheran in Class 3A. Both clubs are coming off quality opening wins over bigger schools and tonight’s winner gains a nice advantage come state tournament seeding time in early March.
Of the two wins earlier this week, Lutheran likely scored the more impressive win as they downed #2 Holy Family (4A). That final was 59-44 as the Lions outscored the Tigers 33-19 over the second and third quarters. Stephanie Schultz, with 18 points, paced three players in double figures as Kallie Lemon finished with 16 and Raelyn Kelty added 13. University stopped Greeley Central 54-42 as they outscored the Wildcats in each of the first three quarters.
Holy Family looks to rebound from the Lutheran loss by lining up against local rival and 7th ranked Broomfield (5A) tonight. The Eagles are also 0-1 after falling to Erie (65-58) in their season opener Wednesday night. Broomfield picked up 20 points from Courtney Wristen and 16 from Hayley Ventura but committed 18 turnovers. Holy Family shot just 35 percent from the field against Lutheran. Tyler Whitlock (14) and Alyssa Wells (12) combined for 28 points and hit nine of 21 field attempts. The rest of the roster connected on just six of 22 attempts.
The anticipated matchup between #1 Mullen (4A) and #5 Cherry Creek (5A) lost some enthusiasm as both came up short in season openers. It was not surprising that the Mustangs lost to 5A #1 Grandview (68-53) but Cherry Creek’s 61-52 loss to Arapahoe was unexpected. Abby Wrede led the offense with 23 points but the Bruins hit just 16 of 51 field goal attempts overall. Mullen led Grandview 34-31 at halftime but was outscored 37-19 in the second half. Lauren Betts went for 31 points and 17 rebounds for the Wolves.
In Class 4A, #5 Berthoud and #9 Severance meet in the first of two meetings. This is the non-conference battle as they will clash inside the Long Peaks on February 18th. Results were different in season openers as Berthoud clubbed Mountain View 61-39 and Severance fell to Thompson Valley 63-54. Kelsey Koza and Anastasia Zelenko each scored 14 for the Silver Knights. Berthoud picked up 17 points, three assists and four steals from Breanna Fowler, 14 points from Annalise Carr and 7 rebounds from Ally Padilla.
In Class 1A, #2 Fleming is the highest ranked team on the court tonight. They open the season at Caliche and welcome back all-state candidates Kendyl Kirkwood, Whitney Chintala and Kally Kirkwood. Kendyl averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds and is the lone senior on this year’s roster. Chintala topped the Wildcats with nearly 19 points a game last season and also chipped in four assists and four steals. Kally totaled 10 points and five rebounds a game as a freshman.
#9 Simla also makes their return to Class 1A this year and opens at Hanover. The Cubs (19-5) should be an immediate factor in the division as they return Kaitlyn Rector who averaged 13 points and 10 rebounds a game last year. She’s joined on the court by Halle Lutz (9.0), Cede Smith (7.8) and Ryann Eurich (6.0).
In Class 2A, four top 10 teams see their first action of 2021 tonight as #2 Limon, #5 Wray, #9 Meeker and #10 Cedaredge are all favored to get wins. Several new faces will take the court for Limon as the Badgers graduated seven of their top nine scorers from last year’s state semifinal club. Trista Marx and Paige Hutsell are the lone returnees from that group. Marx led the Badgers with 10 points and six rebounds as a sophomore while Hutsell provided nearly four points and three rebounds as a freshman.
Wray picked up 17 wins last year and should be in for another good run with the return of leading scorers Karly Godsey (13.0) and Tabby Jones (11.2). Both also collected six rebounds a game. Also is back is sophomore Larissa Salmans who added six points and nearly five rebounds as a freshman.
Meeker’s opener with Rangely is a non-league contest as the two Northwest rivals meet again in February. The Cowboys are expected to battle with Soroco for the Northern division crown this year. Juniors Sarah Kracht (13.2) and Hailey Knowles (6.6) step into the leadership roles for the Cowboys who lost Julia Dinwiddie and Kirsten Brown to graduation.
Cedaredge drops back into the 2A ranks and will be a tough out in the post-season. They won 19 games on the 3A level last season and gets back six of their top seven scorers. That list includes Kammie Henderson (14.0) who also paced the Bruins with over eight rebounds a game.
In Class 3A, #2 Centauri-Alamosa and #10 Eaton-Sterling are important early league games in the IML and Patriot respectively. Centauri is favored against their San Luis Valley neighbor as they’re coming off a blowout of Pueblo County last night while the Moose came up short to 2A Del Norte in their opener.
Courtney Hamilton paced Centauri with 20 points and six rebounds against Pueblo County. Brenna McDaniel added 13 points while Brynli Sowards earned a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Eaton rolled past Highland 61-22 in their opener as Nakaiya Huskie (18) and Ahana Leffler (12) both reached double figures. Kuskie had 86 three-pointers last year and continued that pace with six more against the Huskies. Sterling has not played this season and is coming off a 10-14 season. Leading scorer Jasmine Cordova (11.0) was lost to graduation but the Tigers return the rest of last year’s roster.
Another interesting game in 3A finds #6 Delta at Durango. The Demons (4A), based on their win over Bayfield earlier this week, may have the slight advantage as the Panthers have yet to see the court. Delta though welcomes back the solid trio of Keely Porter (12.8), Alexa Huff (10.0) and Erika Kuta (9.6).
One more rivalry can be found in Class 5A where #8 Fossil Ridge is challenged by Rocky Mountain. The Sabercats won last year’s contest 54-23 but this will be their first game of the season. The Lobos meantime are 1-0 after beating Fort Collins 38-24 earlier this week. Claudia Funk led the way with 12 points and five rebounds.
Below is the top 10 schedule for Friday. Final scores can be sent to Colorado Preps by text at 970.380.7737.
CLASS 1A
FINAL: #2 Fleming beat Caliche 69-25
FINAL: #5 McClave beat Stratton/Liberty 66-36
FINAL: #6 Kit Carson beat Prairie 52-9
FINAL: #8 Cotopaxi beat La Veta 36-27
FINAL: #9 Simla beat Hanover 67-13
CLASS 2A
FINAL: #2 Limon beat Genoa Hugo 45-25
FINAL: #3 Sanford beat Mancos 63-34
FINAL: #4 Holyoke beat Otis 74-17
FINAL: #5 Wray beat Akron 64-34
FINAL: Rangely beat #9 Meeker 64-48
FINAL: #10 Cedaredge beat Hotchkiss 54-26
CLASS 3A
FINAL: #4 Lutheran beat #1 University 36-35
FINAL: #2 Centauri beat Alamosa 68-37
FINAL: #6 Delta beat Durango 62-61
FINAL: #7 Platte Valley beat Faith Christian 54-32
FINAL: #9 Pagosa Springs beat Bayfield 59-20
FINAL: #10 Eaton beat Sterling 65-24
CLASS 4A
FINAL: #1 Mullen beat #5 Cherry Creek (5A) 57-22
FINAL: #2 Holy Family beat #7 Broomfield (5A) 62-21
FINAL: #3 Green Mountain beat Lakewood 53-34
FINAL: #9 Severance beat #5 Berthoud 63-56
FINAL: #7 George Washington beat Dakota Ridge 67-38
CLASS 5A
FINAL: #1 Grandview beat Cherokee Trail 73-37
FINAL: #2 Valor Christian beat Mountain Vista 70-39
FINAL: #4 Ralston Valley beat Legacy 62-30
FINAL: #6 Regis beat Northfield 73-20
FINAL: #8 Fossil Ridge beat Rocky Mountain 60-21
FINAL: #9 Chaparral beat Brighton 61-29
