A couple of key rematches in Class 4A heads up the girls’ basketball report for Thursday. Falcon can virtually clinch their conference title by sweeping Classical Academy while Berthoud looks to avenge an early loss to Severance to maintain their lead in the Longs Peak. There’s also an attractive pairing of Simla-Kiowa in the 1A Black Forest.
Complete details of all the top games is available in every daily report. Final scores from these games are also posted throughout the day. Results can be reported to us by text at 970.380.7737 or by email to [email protected].
Photo provided by Soroco schools.
CLASS 1A
FINAL: #3 McClave beat La Veta 56-16
FINAL: #7 Simla beat Kiowa 67-26
FINAL: #8 South Baca beat Granada 37-22
#9 Elbert vs Cripple Creek
Lone Star at Arickaree/Woodlin (PPD)
NOTES: McClave, South Baca and Elbert are three top 10 clubs expecting to easily move past opponents tonight but the Simla-Kiowa pairing in the Black Forest could be a good contest. The Cubs are 6-1 overall with Kiowa sitting at 6-2. League wise, the Cubs are unbeaten and tied with Evangelical Christian in first. Kiowa and Elbert are tied for third with one loss apiece. Simla has won their last two following a road loss at #2 Kit Carson (58-42) on February 9th. Kaitlyn Rector had 17 points and 11 rebounds against Stratton Liberty while Ryann Eurich added 15 and Halle Lutz 14 in that win. Rector had another double-double in a win over Genoa Hugo; scoring 13 points and 12 rebounds. Eurich chipped in eight points and eight rebounds. Kiowa has three players averaging six points or more on the season. Kendra Byrd (11.9) leads the list followed by Hanna Brogger (9.7) and Jordan Perrault (6.4). They also own a win over Genoa Hugo (32-29) as Byrd, Perrault and Marissa Morgan each finished with nine points. Lone Star has already beaten Idalia so a win over Arickaree/Woodlin should hand the YWKC crown to the Longhorns. Arickaree/Woodlin fell to Idalia last week (38-25) but an upset leaves the three clubs tied for the conference lead. Alivia Weathers scored 16 points in the Longhorns quality win over Haxtun on Monday (47-44). Alison Davis provided six points and eight rebounds. Joslyn King (17.3) is the first option for the Arickaree/Woodlin offense. She’s scored at least 15 points in every game including a 28-point effort against Otis on Monday.
CLASS 2A
FINAL: #8 Heritage Christian beat Longmont Christian 74-47
FINAL: #10 Soroco beat North Park 65-32
FINAL: Highland beat Front Range Christian 44-40
NOTES: The Mile High league race starts to get interesting tonight with focus on the Heritage Christian-Longmont Christian matchup. Heritage (6-0) leads Longmont Christian (2-1) and Highland (4-1) by just one game at this point. The Eagles meet Highland a week from Saturday so their championship hopes are likely determined over the next 10 days. Kali Siemers is a third-year start for Heritage and the junior has exploded for 24 points, five assists and 8.8 rebounds per game thus far. She started the season with back-to-back double-doubles against Frontier Academy and Gilpin County and just missed a third against Clear Creek (29 points – 9 rebounds). Avery Hughes (17.7) can also score in bunches with Savannah Brown adding 12 points and 15 rebounds a game. Longmont Christian goes into 1A for the playoffs and they sit 16th in RPI there this week. Their schedule has been interrupted by COVID so they’ve not played since February 6th in a 64-18 blowout of Twin Peaks Charter. Highland opened with losses to Eaton and Resurrection Christian but has earned four wins in their last five. Jenna Batka (18.0) has reached double figures in every game this year including ga season best 25 vs Dayspring Christian. She went for 16 points, six rebounds and three steals against Eaton in the opener. Soroco suffered their first loss of the season Saturday; falling to Paonia 31-26. The Rams had scored at least 60 points in five of their previous six games so pace may have impacted the outcome. They were just 3 of 16 from the arc and made just 20 percent of their shots overall. Kayedence Bruner still managed 14 points. They could get back on track against North Park as they beat the Wildcats 63-58 in non-league play earlier this month. Soroco hit five three-pointers there but also forced 33 turnovers. Paige Sanchez, with 23 points, was the man offensive threat for the Wildcats. They’re 28th in RPI so an upset in the rematch could give those numbers a much needed boost.
CLASS 3A
FINAL: #2 Lutheran beat Jefferson Academy 60-22
FINAL: Ignacio beat #7 Pagosa Springs 43-37 (OT)
NOTES: It’s a break from the IML chase for Pagosa Springs but not an easy assignment against local rival Ignacio. The Bobcats are regular visitors to the 2A state tournament and despite some key injuries this year, still have the talent for another postseason run. They’re 4-1 on the season including a 48-25 conference road win at Mancos. Avaleena Nanaeto led the Bobcats with 13 and Charlize Valdez added a dozen. Pagosa’s lone blemish is to Centauri last Saturday (53-48) which dropped them to second behind the Falcons in the IML standings. They responded by beating Bayfield 45-23 two nights ago. The rematch with Centauri is not until March 5th. Lutheran (7-1) is playing at a high level including a hard-fought 56-50 loss to 5A Top 10 Chaparral last week. Stephanie Schultz scored 21 in that game and is now over 1,000 points for her career. Joclyn Bassett added 14. Jefferson Academy is below five hundred in the Metro (2-3).
CLASS 4A
#5 Falcon vs #8 Classical Academy (moved to Saturday)
FINAL: Severance beat #10 Berthoud 69-60
FINAL: Aurora Central beat Eagle Ridge Academy 52-32
FINAL: Palisade beat Rifle 37-26
FINAL: Glenwood Springs beat Battle Mountain 60-29
NOTES: Tonight’s rematch of Falcon-Classical Academy will finalize the top two spots in the CS Metro North. Game one went to Falcon 50-47 so they hold a one game edge in the standings. A sweep gives them a two-game edge and a chance to clinch the league crown by beating Sand Creek on Monday. A Classical Academy win leaves the two clubs tied for first and sharing the league title at year’s end. Falcon led the first meeting 44-33 after three quarters and then held off the Titans down the stretch. Free throws were important as the Falcons drained 24 of 29 attempts. Neither team shot better than 35 percent from the field with TCA holding a 31-20 rebound advantage. Falcon committed six fewer turnovers. Billie Fiore had 22 for the Falcons and Kaelyn Boyles paced TCA with 11. Berthoud-Severance is also a rematch but this one counts for the league standings. Severance won the first meeting 63-56 but trails the Spartans by one game in the Longs Peak race. Berthoud (4-0) is alone in first with the Silver Knights (3-1) battling Roosevelt and Northridge in second place. Both teams hit 10 three-pointers in the first meeting; Natalia Puchino had six for Severance and Annalise Carr five for Berthoud. The Silver Knights hit 43 percent of their shots overall compared to just 28 for Berthoud. The rebound edge went to Severance (45-33) but Berthoud had just 21 turnovers compared to 28 for Severance. Individually, Carr had 15 for Berthoud with three others in double figures. Puchino dropped in 20 for Severance with Anastasia Zelenko scoring 18 and Kelsey Koza 17. Eagle Ridge Academy (3-0) sits tied with Weld Central (2-0) atop the Colorado but Aurora Central could also be a factor. The Trojans haven’t played a conference game but are 5-3 overall. They also topped Eagle Ridge 46-33 in non-league play last Saturday as Aryannah McClain scored 18 and Zana’e Hodges 17. Rifle and Battle Mountain share the Western Slope lead and they collide on Saturday. Both are favored on the road tonight but each has the task to not looking to Saturday’s showdown first.
CLASS 5A
FINAL: 3 Regis beat Heritage 84-10
FINAL: #8 Chaparral beat Ponderosa 59-45
FINAL: #9 Rangeview beat Northglenn 75-14
NOTES: Regis is heavily favored against winless Heritage but the Chaparral-Ponderosa game is very important to the league standings. Both teams are 4-1 in league activity and share second place with Highlands Ranch (5-1) with all three teams one back of Regis. Chaparral has yet to play Regis so even with a loss to Highlands Ranch, the Wolverines remain in the championship picture. Ponderosa fell to Regis 52-16 in early conference play so they must win out and get some help from others to earn a piece of the top trophy. A loss tonight likely means fourth is their best possible finish. Payton Bang leads Chaparral in scoring (12.0) and rebounding. Liberty Line (11.1) and Kaitlyn Kyle (10.1) continue to pace Ponderosa on offense. Rangeview (7-0) has five more wins overall than Northglenn (2-5) but the two are separated by just one game in the EMAC standings. The Raiders share the top spot with Westminster (1-0) with the Norse tied with Brighton and Vista Peak in third. Northglenn is coming off a 67-20 loss to Brighton in league play last week; Rangeview has outscored four league oponents by 220 points.
