It’s a light but important schedule for several girls basketball teams on Wednesday night. Five games stand out as teams continue to keep a share of first place or maintain the outright lead in their respective conference. And there is one such game in every classification tonight.
Maybe the biggest matchup is in Class 4A between #4 Green Mountain and #8 D’Evelyn. If road conditions allow, Colorado Preps would like to see this game in person to see if either can step up and challenge Mullen and Windsor for the 4A state championship. Green Mountain has more post-season experience as they reached the state semifinals a year ago. D’Evelyn was also a tournament team in 2021 but were bounced in round one by Roosevelt (41-40).
Both teams are unbeaten in the Jeffco so the winner takes over the top spot in the conference. It’s the same situation as last year with the Rams taking the head-to-head decision (78-53) and the league crown. The two clubs meet again next month so the race won’t be decided tonight. Neither has been pushed much; Green Mountain is outscoring nine opponents 620-292 and D’Evelyn by a margin of 688-340. The Rams topped Littleton by eight but has won all other league games by 21 points. The Jaguars scored a 16-point win against Evergreen for their narrowest margin of victory inside the Jeffco.
There is plenty of firepower on both clubs. Green Mountain features the tandem of Jayda Maves and Avery Oaster. Maves averages a team best 22 points with nearly five steals per game. Oaster adds 17 points and a club high nine rebounds. D’Evelyn is led by the sophomore duo of Bailey Marvel and Macy Scheer. Marvel averaged a double-double as a freshman but her numbers of 19 points and 15 rebounds are even better this season. Scheer is second in both categories with 12 points and seven boards.
Another battle of league unbeatens can be found in the 4A/5A Pikes Peak between Pine Creek (9-4) and Liberty (7-6). Going into the showdown they share the conference lead with Doherty. Pine Creek has won five straight since a one-point loss to Horizon. They’ve toppled Vista Ridge and Lewis Palmer in league play. Freshmen led the way against Lewis Palmer last Saturday as Brooklyn Stewart tallied 17 points and 11 rebounds and LeeKaya Burke-Perryman chipped in 12 points, five steals and six assists.
Liberty opened conference activity by downing Discovery Canyon and Vista Ridge but their win streak came to a close with a 46-44 non-league setback to Pueblo South last Saturday. Most of their offensive production comes from the tandem of Jacie Bunck and Jacey Rohr who each average 20 points per game.
In Class 2A, Denver Christian needs a win over Front Range Christian to keep a share of the Mile High conference lead. The Thunder are tied with Dayspring Christian and Heritage Christian in first and all three have zeros in the loss column. Denver Christian hasn’t played since a tough 53-28 road loss to defending state champion Limon. Freshman Kamiree Fuller leads DC on offense (12.0) and is averaging 17 points in conference wins over Gilpin County and Lyons.
Front Range Christian opened the season 5-0 but look to rebound from back-to-back league losses to Dawson (34-31) and Highland (47-32).
It’s the same scenario for St Mary’s in the 3A Tri Peaks when they line up against Manitou Springs tonight. The Pirates are unbeaten in conference and share the early lead with Vanguard. Both teams are in the 3A top 10 this week. Manitou Springs is underwater in league play (2-3) but this is a great rivalry so they would like nothing better than to hand to the Pirates their first conference loss. It’s a tough assignment; St Mary’s is coming off a strong 81-43 blitzing of 4A Sand Creek on Monday night. Ellie Hartman scored 19 points and collected 15 rebounds. Maeve Salveson (17) and Peyton Kutz (10) also scored in double figures and the Pirates connected on 11 three-pointers in the win.
There’s a non-conference game of note in Class 1A between Elbert (5-1) and Deer Trail (4-2). Both have winning records and they sit 23rd and 26th in RPI respectively so the winner will get a needed boost in those numbers. Both teams played and beat Hanover in their most recent outing; Elbert won 61-20 and Deer Trail 41-27. The Eagles are paced by junior Alex Donovan with 13.8 points and 7.1 rebounds. Elbert counters with the twosome of Maison Avent and Kinsey Bitterman who combine for 27 points and nearly 19 rebounds a game.
