The girls’ basketball program from Valor Christian has already locked up a league title.
Their quest to defend the 6A crown is next.
The Eagles (20-2) have a firm grasp of the No. 1 seed in the classification with just days to go in the regular season. They clinched the 6A Jeffco League title in runaway wins over No. 21 Ralston Valley and No. 48 Lakewood last week. Then they won their 16th straight game, beating No. 20 Arapahoe, 72-34 on Monday.
In this week’s look-in on girls’ basketball, let’s dive into a few league races around the state and see what it means for the upcoming postseason. The 6A and 5A regular season ends on Saturday. The rest of the classifications go until March 1.
Class 6A
Current top seed: Valor Christian.
On its tail: No. 2 Grandview, No. 3 Broomfield, No. 4 Cherry Creek and No. 5 Legend.
The second-seeded Wolves (18-3) finished the 6A/5A Centennial League 8-0 in the regular season and are now playing in their league’s tournament.
Last week, Ava Chang scored 24 points in Grandview’s 54-32 win over No. 4 Cherry Creek. Aneya Chambers had 14 points and six rebounds in the loss.
No. 3 Broomfield (20-1, 11-0), meanwhile, can win the 6A/5A/4A Granite Peaks League with a win over 5A No. 2 Mead later Tuesday night. Freshman Reece Gilpatrick, the 6-foot-4 standout who is already fielding offers from some of the biggest programs in the country, scored 18 points in a 54-18 win over No. 32 Legacy on Friday.
No. 5 Legend has a one-game lead over No. 10 Regis Jesuit and No. 7 Highlands Ranch in the 6A/5A Continental League heading into the season’s final week. The Titans (17-4, 8-0) beat the Raiders in overtime on Jan. 29. They host the Falcons (18-3, 7-1) later Tuesday in what could decide the league crown.
One more league race to watch: No. 6 Pine Creek (19-2, 10-0) has a one-game lead over No. 15 Doherty (16-5, 9-1) in the 6A/5A Colorado Springs Metro League.
Behind 14 points and 11 rebounds from Brooklyn Stewart, the Eagles won their first meeting 55-45 on Feb. 4.
Pine Creek will host the Spartans on Thursday.
Class 5A
Current top seed: Air Academy.
On its tail: No. 2 Mead, No. 3 Green Mountain, No. 4 Windsor and No. 5 Mullen.
The Kadets can wrap up the 5A/4A Pikes Peak League title along with a perfect 22-0 regular season with a win over No. 10 Lutheran on Wednesday. In their first meeting on Jan. 30, Kinley Asp had 17 points, six rebounds and six steals in a 54-41 Air Academy win.
The No. 2 Mavericks (19-2), meanwhile, haven’t lost to a team from Colorado yet this winter. But their biggest test of the year comes later Tuesday night when they host 6A No. 3 Broomfield. They go into the Granite League-deciding match with 10 straight wins, with the last nine all decided by at least 24 points.
Green Mountain (20-2, 8-0) wrapped up the 5A/4A Jeffco League with a 72-20 win over Conifer last week. Julia Schafer had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Rams.
No. 4 Windsor (17-4, 10-0) has just two losses in-state and those were to 6A No. 4 Cherry Creek and No. 5 Legend. The Wizards lead the 6A/5A/4A Northern League by a game over 6A No. 16 Rocky Mountain, who they beat by 22 last month. Rayleigh Hess is averaging 16.3 PPG and 7.2 RPG for them this winter.
No. 5 Mullen (13-8) can make a run up the rankings with a win over 6A No. 2 Grandview on Thursday.
One other league race to watch: 6A No. 13 Fruita Monument (15-6, 8-0) is in the driver’s seat in the 6A/5A Southwestern League. Behind it is No. 7 Durango (16-4, 5-2) and No. 9 Montrose (17-3, 5-2), both of which it’ll face this week.
Durango’s Claire Goodwin leads the league at 14.2 PPG, but just narrowly over Montrose’s Mayce Oberg (13.9), Maggie Legg (13.3) and Fruita Monument’s Olivia Campbell (13.2).
Class 4A
Current top seed: University.
On its tail: No. 2 Pagosa Springs, No. 3 Timnath, No. 4 Eaton and No. 5 Alamosa.
University (18-0, 9-0 4A Patriot) has had little resistance so far, going undefeated up to this point. Janay Kravig had 18 points in a 63-20 win over No. 15 Sterling on Friday.
League-rival No. 4 Eaton (13-6, 7-2) has given the Bulldogs two of their better tests this season, falling by 13 in January and 11 last week. In the 57-46 loss Wednesday, Courtney Steinkamp (21.2 PPG) scored 26 on 7-of-16 shooting.
No. 2 Pagosa Springs (15-4, 9-0) leads a competitive 4A/3A Intermountain League. Right behind the Pirates is 3A No. 3 Centauri (16-3, 8-1) and 4A No. 5 Alamosa (15-5 7-2). Senior Elizabeth Currier (12.2 PPG) scored the 1,000th point of her career for Pagosa Springs 10 days ago.
No. 3 Timnath (17-2, 11-1) has a good resume, with its only losses of the season coming to No. 12 Kent Denver and 5A No. 6 Roosevelt. It trails the Roughriders (17-3, 11-0) by a half-game in the 5A/4A Longs Peak League. It hosts Roosevelt on Thursday.
One other league race to watch: Denver Christian (19-1) leads the 4A/3A Metro League by a half-game over 4A No. 8 Peak to Peak (14-5, 7-1) and No. 12 Kent Denver (10-10, 7-1). The Thunder is currently the No. 1 team in 3A.
Peak to Peak’s Alexandra Eschmeyer, named a McDonald’s All-American this year, leads the league with 27.4 PPG and 13.9 RPG.
