Based on statewide rankings this week, the Patriot and Western Slope are the top conferences in Class 3A as each has three teams in the top 10. Those two leagues are the focus of our girls basketball Thursday preview as each has an important game on tap.
Photo by Dwight Siverson
Since the Patriot holds down three of the top four spots in the Top 10, let’s start there as #4 University (11-1) entertains Resurrection Christian (9-3). The visiting Cougars were almost the fourth team in the rankings this week but they settled for the 11th spot behind newcomer St Mary’s who gained the tenth spot. Resurrection Christian has a league loss to Eaton so a second setback likely takes them out of the championship discussion in such a competitive conference.
The Cougars were in that game until the fourth quarter. They trailed 39-35 through the first 24 minutes but were outscored 21-9 over the final eight. Balance carried them offensively as eight players scored at least three points with no one getting more than 11 (Taylor Wright). The Cougars outrebounded the Reds 30-27 including Wright with five but shot just five free throws compared to 15 for the more aggressive Reds.
Against University, they face a team with state championship aspirations. The Bulldogs lone loss is to 3rd ranked Vanguard last month. League wins are over Brush, Sterling and Valley by a combined 97 points; a number skewed by the 56 point win over Sterling. Junior Taryn Kravig and senior Emry Trujillo are a solid guard tandem with plenty of varsity experience. Kravig is first in scoring (14.2) and assists (4.2). Trujillo is third in points (8.4) and adds over two steals per game.
Freshmen also play a key role for the Bulldogs with both Addison Harding and Janay Kravig playing heavy minutes. Harding is a six-foot post averaging nine points and eight rebounds a game; Kravig is another guard with five points and nearly two assists.
University begins the night sharing the Patriot lead with #1 Platte Valley and #2 Eaton who are both 2-0 in the conference. Resurrection Christian is alone in fourth (2-1). Platte Valley rolled Brush 71-30 on Thursday and could have a similar score at home against Sterling on Friday. They collide with Resurrection Christian next Tuesday. Eaton hosts Frontier Academy tonight for their action of the week.
Out west, Grand Valley is ranked fifth, Coal Ridge eighth and Delta ninth this week. Of the three, Coal Ridge is the only one on the court tonight as they venture to Craig for a date with Moffat County. It won’t be an easy win as the Bulldogs have enough talent to break through the big three in conference play.
We got a preview of this league battle back in December when they met during a tournament. Coal Ridge won the battle 51-37; pulling away with a 22-8 run in the fourth quarter. The game was tied at 29 through three quarters.
Ciara Carranza paced Coal Ridge with 14 points and Jackie Cammunez 13. Together, they connected on 13 of 28 shots. Coal Ridge also won the rebound battle 30-23 with Mikayla Cheney picking off 10 and Carranza 6. Moffat County got 13 points from Haile Hamilton. Rylie Felten added 10 points a nd seven rebounds. Neither club shot well from the arc; Coal Ridge was 3-15 and Moffat County 4-22.
Coal Ridge has won three straight since a loss to Grand Junction Central. Moffat County balanced their season mark to 5-5 with a 54-24 win over Summit two nights ago. This game starts a very rugged schedule for the Bulldogs who next face Grand Junction, Montrose, Delta and Grand Valley.
Grand Valley and Delta next see action on Saturday and both are in conference activity. The Cardinals line up at home against Basalt and the Panthers go to Roaring Fork.
It’s a very quick turnaround for Elbert as they host Kiowa in a critical 1A Black Forest conference game. The Bulldogs were in action on Wednesday night downing Deer Trail 61-33. They led 29-12 at halftime and then put up 27 points in third quarter allowing them to rest key players for tonight’s battle.
The two, along with a very young Simla club, are favored to finish in the top three of the league standings and also earn the top three spots in the district tournament. If that happens, both teams will head to the 1A Northeast regional to face the likes of #1 Briggsdale, #2 Fleming, #5 Merino, #6 Stratton and #8 Lone Star along with Idalia and Haxtun. It will be a very tough bracket.
Kiowa got there last year and ended the season with a hard fought 64-52 first round loss to Lone Star. They return all 64 points from that game to their roster this year so it’s a veteran group. With only four games played to date, they may be a bit rusty as they’ve been on the court only once since December 11th. That day they beat Dayspring Christian for likely their best win of the season (59-46). Kendra Byrd scored 12 of her game high 18 points from beyond the arc and Jordan Perrault added 11. Hanna Brogger (8) and Marissa Morgan (6) also combined for 14 rebounds.
Only two conference games overall have been played thus far in the 4A CS Metro but based on overall records, tonight’s pairing of Classical Academy (8-2) and Falcon (6-6) will go a long way to determining the league champion. They also meet on February 7th for a second league contest and if one team sweeps, they are likely the outright league champion.
Competition for the league hardware could come from the likes of Mitchell (8-3) and Elizabeth (6-6) but neither has played the same level of schedule as the Titans and Falcons. Classical Academy in fact has a 58-16 league win over Elizabeth already on their resume.
That win is part of the Titans current five-game winning streak which also includes victories over 5A rivals Rampart and Air Academy. Katherine Roach and Brooke Jones are 1-2 in both scoring and rebounding. They each average 14 points per game and pull down a combined 12 rebounds.
Falcon moved past Sierra 48-30 in their league opener. It snapped a two-game skid with losses to 5A Mountain Vista and #3 Mead. Billie Fiore is again their top player. She scored exactly 255 points in both her sophomore and junior seasons and with a 15 point per game average this season, she’s on her way to eclipsing that mark. She also adds three assists and three steals each contest.
