Three top five clashes highlight the girls’ basketball Tuesday night schedule. In Class 1A, #2 Kit Carson battles #4 Simla while Sangre De Cristo, the third ranked team in the division, steps up a division to face 2nd ranked Sanford. And the annual battle between #3 Highlands Ranch and #4 Regis tops the big school slate.
Colorado Preps previews the top 10 matchups of note and several other important conference matchups below. It’s part of our daily coverage of the high school basketball season across the state. Final scores can be reported by text to 970.380.7737 or by email to [email protected].
Feature photo by Steve Abeyta.
CLASS 1A
FINAL: #1 Briggsdale beat Lone Star 61-41
FINAL: #2 Kit Carson beat #4 Simla 58-42
FINAL: #6 McClave beat Wiley 46-31
FINAL: Merino beat #7 Fleming 59-46
FINAL: #10 Cotopaxi beat South Park 40-16
NOTES: All four games on the list could be very good. Lone Star could be a tough out for top ranked Briggsdale as the Longhorns were a preseason top 10 club before an opening loss to Flatirons Academy knocked them out. They’ve won two straight since including an important YWKC victory over Idalia. Briggsdale though has outscored four opponents 269-108 thus far. They have great balance with four players; Kylie Krise (14.0), Shelby Hoffman (12.3), Jenna Krise (12.0) and Peyton Nicklas (11.3) averaging double figures. Their defense also produces 19 steals per game led by Nicklas with four. Alivia Weathers (18.0) and Allison Davis (10.5) lead the Lone Star attack. Kit Carson and Simla is another conference game that will greatly impact the state tournament bracket as the winner takes a step to a top five seed. Simla (4-0) could use a push. They’ve kept three opponents below 20 points and won four games by a combined 175 points. Kit Carson (5-0) will be that push as they come in with quality wins over Wiley (73-43) and Limon (59-44). Four players average eight points or more a game; led by Stephanie Framel (10.3) and Tieler Randel (10.0). Tess Johnson chips in nine and Sedonia Isenbart eight. Kaitlyn Rector, with 18 points and 12 rebounds, is a strong all-state candidate for Simla. She gets plenty of help offensively from Halle Lutz (11.3) and Cede Smith (11.0). McClave dropped their first game of the season last Saturday; an overtime loss to 2A #6 Rocky Ford. Maggie Chase (17) and Anna Beckett (16) combined for 33 points but the Cardinals, as a group, connected on just 29 percent of their shots (17-58). Wiley (3-2) handed Eads their first loss (48-26) over the weekend. Taira Weber went for 21 points and Macy Rowan added 14 rebounds. Fleming survived for a 39-36 road win at Genoa Hugo and could be in for a similar battle with Merino. Kendyl Kirkwood led the Wildcats with 20 points and 13 rebounds while Whitney Chintala (16.0) hopes to bounce back from a 1-10 shooting night. Merino is 0-3 but the schedule has been brutal with losses to Burlington, Sedgwick County and Holyoke. Those three 2A schools have a combined record of 14-1.
CLASS 2A
FINAL: #2 Sanford beat #3 Sangre De Cristo (1A) 48-37
FINAL: #4 Wray beat Wiggins 59-35
FINAL: #5 Cedaredge beat Plateau Valley 57-26
FINAL: #6 Rocky Ford beat John Mall 72-10
FINAL: #7 Limon beat Flagler 59-17
FINAL: #9 Soroco beat West Grand (Final score n/a)
FINAL: Center beat Sargent 34-30
Longmont Christian at Dayspring Christian (PPD)
NOTES: A good rivalry from the San Luis Valley is arguably the best game on the schedule tonight as both clubs have state championship aspirations in their respective class. Sangre (3-0) looks to build on early season momentum gained with last week’s 39-28 road win at Cotopaxi. The T-Birds trailed 23-20 at halftime but outscored the Pirates 15-2 in the third quarter and held them to five second half points overall. Sanford (4-0) picked up their most impressive win in week one; beating Ignacio 51-41. Cheyenne Caldon netted 16 in the win and Asia Caldon added 10. Asia also pulled down 10 boards. The Indians were also a near perfect 13 of 16 from the foul line and shoot 71 percent from there for the season. Wiggins (3-1) continues to improve their program but they dropped a 42-35 league opening decision to Akron last week. Now the challenge is even bigger as they face the highly ranked Eagles. Wray has a first-place battle with Sedgwick County on Thursday but can’t look past the Tigers tonight. Opponents for Cedaredge, Rocky Ford, Limon and Soroco have a combined record of 2-12 so all four ranked teams are expecting conference wins this evening. Outside the poll, Sargent and Center play an important game inside the Southern Peaks. The winner is in good shape for at least a top three league finish and that would likely be good enough for a spot in the state bracket. Sargent (2-2) has losses to ranked opponents Rocky Ford and Pagosa Springs with wins coming over Hoehne and Trinidad. McKenzie Tolliver tops the Farmers in points (6.8), rebounds (4.5) and steals (2.8). Center (2-2) lost to Salida and Hoehne to open but has responded well in beating Sierra Grande and Crested Butte. Those wins are by a combined seven points so the Vikings are battle-tested. Alexis Varela (12.0) is the lone double-digit scorer and also leads the club with 6.3 rebounds. Natalia Cendejas, with nine points and five rebounds, is second in both categories. Front Range Christian (1-0) and Heritage Christian (2-0) share the Mile High lead but behind them are seven teams with just one loss. Longmont Christian (2-1) and Dayspring Christian (4-1) are two of them. Both have a league loss to Highland on their resume. Aliya McClanahan scored 14 and Corrin Sides 13 as Dayspring Christian rolled Clear Creek (53-14) last week. Taylor Vandenburg exploded for 27 points in Longmont Christian’s opening win over Belleview Christian (55-19).
CLASS 3A
FINAL: #1 Lutheran beat Prospect Ridge 53-24
FINAL: #3 Eaton beat Estes Park 58-27
FINAL: #4 Centauri beat Montezuma Cortez 88-23
FINAL: #7 St Mary’s beat Banning Lewis 98-14
FINAL: #8 Platte Valley beat #10 Brush 58-33
FINAL: Kent Denver beat Colorado Academy 37-24
FINAL: Manitou Springs beat Salida 54-26
Rifle at Coal Ridge (PPD)
NOTES: Getting most of the attention in Class 3A tonight is the top 10 clash between Platte Valley and Brush. The Broncos see their first Patriot league action of the season while Brush begins the night at 1-0 and tied with Eaton (3-0) in first place. Brush has already beaten University so another win tonight moves them very close to a top-two league finish. They don’t face Eaton until the final game of the regular season. Platte Valley (2-1) has played a strong schedule as well; beating Weld Central and Faith Christian to open before a loss at #2 Vanguard (58-37). They also meet University on Saturday so this is a big stretch for them as well. Bree Bunting (11.7) and Cora Schissler (11.3) lead a balanced Broncos attack that also features three others scoring at least seven a game. Andi Schissler is one of them (7.0) and she also tops the club with over eight rebounds a game. Brush followed up the University win by winning at Weld Central (56-39) on Saturday. That game was tight until the Beetdiggers went on a 21-5 to close out the game. Alexis Corral and Braelynn Rule combined for five three-pointers and each scored 13 points. Centauri is heavily favored to beat Montezuma Cortez but it might be considered a sandwich game. The Falcons are coming off a great win at 2A #1 Rye on Saturday and have the always s important conference battle with #6 Pagosa Springs this weekend. Kent Denver and Colorado (both 2-0) are playing to keep a share of the Metro lead. They open play tied with Lutheran and Peak to Peak as league unbeatens. Kent was blown out by D’Evelyn in game one but has put together a three-game winning streak. Amanda Licht (11.0) is the top scorer while Sloan Hurley (8.5) and Kaci Karl (7.0) help control the glass. Colorado Academy seeks a slower tempo as they average 41 points per game. Freshman Alex May (13.0) tops their offense with Ella Freimuth (11.) next in line. Together they also average 17 rebounds. The winner between Rifle-Coal Ridge can be crowned Garfield county champions as both have wins over rival Glenwood Springs. Rifle won their game last Saturday (32-28) while the Titans scored a 40-28 decision back in week one.
CLASS 4A
FINAL: #4 George Washington beat Kennedy 68-19
FINAL: Berthoud beat Riverdale Ridge 78-45
FINAL: Northridge beat Roosevelt 58-53
FINAL: Battle Mountain beat Palisade 36-33
FINAL: Weld Central beat Aurora Central 69-25
FINAL: Doherty beat Air Academy 44-40
NOTES: George Washington is the lone ranked team on the court tonight and the Patriots are heavily favored to get past Kennedy. The Patriots though may have one eye on the TJ-Denver East matchup as that game also factors heavily into the league chase. GW, TJ, Denver South and Denver West all begin the night unbeaten in the DPL. It’s crowded atop the Longs Peaks division with Berthoud, Severance, Roosevelt, Riverdale Ridge and Northridge all entering the night without a league loss. Some separation will occur as four of the unbeatens square off in two games. Players to watch in the matchups include Mackenzie Sailors of Roosevelt (15.8), Berthoud’s Breanna Fowler (14.5) and Ally Padilla (12.3), Seneya Martinez of Northridge (13.3) and Thalia Guardiola of Riverdale Ridge (12.0). Battle Mountain and Palisade (both 2-0) are two of three unbeatens remaining in the Western Slope. They join Rifle (3-0) in first place. Battle Mountain has allowed just 31 points in two conference wins; forcing a combined 52 turnovers against Eagle Valley and Summit. Gabriela Caballero had a hand in many of them as she combined for 12 steals. Aiden Pennington added nine. Palisade is coming off a 53-14 win at Steamboat Springs as Maggie Latek, Elizabeth Hawkins and Kendyl MacAskill each netted nine points. Weld Central (4-2) and Aurora Central (4-1) have the best overall records in the Colorado and are favored to finish 1-2. Tonight’s game is a non-conference tilt but will provide us with a favorite going into their league bash later this season. Doherty and Air Academy are two of the four unbeatens left in Pikes Peak play so the loser drops off the pace. Payton Sterk (18.5) of Doherty is the league’s leading scorer with Air Academy freshman Caitlin Kramer (15.3) fourth.
CLASS 5A
FINAL: #4 Regis beat #3 Highlands Ranch 58-53
FINAL: #8 Chaparral beat ThunderRidge 51-40
FINAL: Denver East beat Thomas Jefferson 71-46
FINAL: Fruita Monument beat Durango 26-22
FINAL: Grand Junction beat Montrose 37-31
NOTES: Always one of the most anticipated big school girls’ basketball games of the year, the annual Highlands Ranch-Regis meeting comes a bit early on the Continental chase. Both clubs are unbeaten (3-0) in league play so the winner will stand alone atop the standings. The winner also gets closer to finalizing a top four playoff seed. Regis has allowed just 66 points in three conference wins. That defense forced 22 turnovers in last week’s win over ThunderRidge and also recorded 21 steals in beating Ponderosa and Castle View. Samantha Jones, with seven steals in the wins, has been a top defender. Highlands Ranch has also been very good defensively; giving up 86 points in beating ThunderRidge, Chaparral and Legend. They average 15 steals per game four players getting at least 2.5 per game. The leader is Payton Muma with 3.6. Chaparral sees their first action since falling to Highlands Ranch (59-35) and because of that loss, the Wolverines open the night one game off the pace. They don’t face Regis until the final game of the regular season. George Washington is the likely favorite in the DPL but Thomas Jefferson opens the night tied with the Patriots in first place. They’ve been led early this season by Brooke Murrell with 24.7 points and 13.3 rebounds per game. Rae Schultz (10.2) paces the Angels offense. They remain in contention at 2-1 in league play.
