League standings at the top of each conference in girls basketball are starting to thin out as some clubs take control of their respective class. A few can wrap up championships this week and we set the stage for the final two weeks of the season in each 4A and 5A league.
CLASS 4A
CS METRO NORTH: Classical Academy (5-0) is very close to the championship as they have a two game edge on Falcon, Sand Creek and Mitchell. The Titans are in action twice this week and both games are against second placed games and wins will only increase the gap. They go to Falcon on Monday and then Mitchell on Wednesday. The second place logjam could loosen there and even more with results from games between Sand Creek & Falcon on Wednesday and Sand Creek & Mitchell on Friday.
CS METRO SOUTH: Canon City’s win over Mesa Ridge in late January separates the two in the conference standings. The Tigers are 5-0 and Mesa Ridge 5-1. Since all other league clubs have at least three league losses, game two between the Tigers and Grizzlies on the 17th will determine first and second.
JEFFCO: Game two between Green Mountain (9-0) and D’Evelyn (10-1) should determine the championship. The Rams beat the Jaguars 51-34 back on January 19th to take the one game lead going into the final two weeks. Green Mountain also has a win over third place Littleton (7-2) so a sweep of D’Evelyn should give the Lions the title.
LONGS PEAK: Each team has one more conference game either Monday or Tuesday but the top three spots have already been locked in. Roosevelt (8-0) is the champion with Thompson Valley (7-1) second and Northridge (6-2) third. They’ll take down the top three seeds for the conference tournament which opens on Wednesday and continues into the final week.
WESTERN SLOPE: Glenwood Springs goes to Steamboat Springs on Saturday and a win gives the Demons the league championship and an automatic playoff berth. They’re unbeaten through eight games with Summit (7-2) in second and Steamboat Springs (6-3). Glenwood has swept two games with Summit and also beat Steamboat in their first meeting.
COLORADO: Skyview (5-0) is alone in first with Weld Central (4-1) one game back in the loss column. Englewood, Eagle Ridge Academy and Aurora Central have two losses apiece and are battling for a top three league finish. Skyview needs just one more win to wrap up the title and that could come on Monday at Aurora Central. If not, they get another chance at the crown by beating Eagle Ridge Academy on Thursday. Unless Skyview loses twice, Weld Central cannot finish higher than second and the Rebels clinch that position by beating Englewood in Keenesburg on Tuesday. The teams also compete in a league tournament which opens on the 15th.
NORTHERN: A league tournament is also on the slate in this conference with Windsor (7-0) taking the top seed. They close the regular season conference schedule against Erie on Monday night but cannot fall out of first since they have a wins over Holy Family (6-1) and Mead (6-2). The TIgers and Mavericks will be seeded second and third going into a tournament that opens on Wednesday.
SOUTH CENTRAL: Pueblo West (6-0) has the lead entering the final two weeks of the season with Pueblo County (4-1) holding down second. Pueblo South has two league losses and remains in contention two games off the pace. West beat County 58-28 and South 59-39 in the first meeting so the Cyclones are favored to run the table. They host Pueblo South on Friday and Pueblo County on the 15th.
CLASS 5A
CENTENNIAL: Arapahoe and Grandview both start the week at 5-1 and sharing first place. The top of the standings will change on Tuesday when they meet in Grandview. They also have a second meeting on the 16th. All remaining teams have three league losses so the Wolves and Warriors should land the top two spots. They’re ranked second and fourth again statewide this week.
EAST METRO: Vista Peak (4-0) and Rangeview (3-0) are co-leaders by one game over Westminster, Prairie View and Brighton (all one league loss). The leaders do not square off but both could get pushed by third place teams this week as Rangeview heads to Westminster and Vista Peak entertains Prairie View. Both games are on Thursday. Another key game to sort out the top five is Tuesday as Westminster goes to Prairie View.
FRONT RANGE: Hard league to figure out at this juncture as Rocky Mountain, Monarch and Fossil Ridge all sit at 5-1. Horizon is fourth at 5-2. The most important game is Thursday as Fossil Ridge goes to Rocky Mountain. That winner will share the top spot with 5th ranked Monarch.
JEFFCO: Valor Christian (4-0) scored a major win over Ralston Valley last Friday so they continue to be the conference favorite. Ralston fell back into a second place tie with Arvada West and Columbine (all 2-1). Columbine visits Arvada West with that winner stepping up to challenge Ralston Valley for second. Valor Christian also has a win over Columbine this year and will face A-West in the final week.
PIKES PEAK: Doherty (8-0) clinched the crown by beating Pine Creek 56-33 last week. That win gave the Spartans a two-game edge on the Eagles (6-2) and Air Academy (5-2). Doherty also has a win over Air Academy so they own the tiebreaker over both second place teams. They have two league games remaining with Liberty (Tuesday) and Vista Ridge (Thursday).
CONTINENTAL: Highlands Ranch (6-0) has the lead by one game over Regis and Chaparral (both 4-1). The Falcons do not have a game with Chaparral listed on their schedule but will visit Regis on Tuesday. Regis topped Chaparral earlier this season.
SOUTHWESTERN: Fruita Monument won the first meeting with Grand Junction Central last week so the Wildcats (5-0) have the lead by one game over the Warriors (4-1). They meet again on the 15th. Both teams have difficult road trips to third place Durango (3-2) this week as the Warriors face the Demons on Friday and the Wildcats on Saturday.
DENVER PREP: George Washington (4-0) and Denver East (6-0) have a two-game cushion on all other league members so their head-to-head matchup to close the season on the 19th will determine first and second.
NON-LEAGUE: Four cross classification games are set for this weekend as teams use the games to prep for the playoff push.
- TUESDAY: Green Mountain at Cherry Creek
- TUESDAY: Fruita Monument at Delta
- THURSDAY: George Washington at Lutheran
- SATURDAY: Rangeview at George Washington
