The Class 3A battle between #1 Vanguard and #3 Centauri will headline the Tuesday girls’ basketball schedule but that contest is joined by quite a few others that will impact conference championships. Several clubs also must deal with the look past factor tonight ahead of first place encounters later in the week.
Colorado Preps will post final scores of these games inside this story throughout the night. Results can be reported by text to 970.380.7737 or by email to kevin@coloradopreps. Also follow our Twitter Feed @coloradopreps for updates as we also break down what results mean to league races.
CLASS 1A
FINAL: #1 Briggsdale beat Weldon Valley 53-11
FINAL: #3 McClave beat Granada 59-25
FINAL: #4 Sangre De Cristo beat Monte Vista 49-33
FINAL: #6 Kim/Branson beat Wiley 39-38
FINAL: #7 Simla beat Genoa Hugo 38-20
FINAL: #9 Elbert beat Peyton 48-33
FINAL: #10 Shining Mountain beat Belleview Christian 56-34
NOTES: With Briggsdale and McClave expected to post double-digit wins, the fun could get started with the Sangre De Cristo – Monte Vista matchup. The T-Birds are favored at home but Monte Vista has momentum from last week’s 45-39 win over Del Norte. Chevelle Garcia dropped in 18 points in that win and she added a dozen more when the Pirates also got by Gunnison. Those two wins pushed the Pirates over five hundred for the season (3-2) and gives them some confidence against their SLV neighbors to the north. Sangre played well in a 48-37 loss to 2A #1 Sanford last week. They returned to their winning ways against Antonito (57-15) three nights later. The Ark Valley chase should be fun. Wiley sits at 3-4 for the season but that’s the worst record of any league team. Kim/Branson (7-0) is unbeaten and last week collected an important RPI win over Cotopaxi (45-42). Talara Nittler finished 16 points including four treys. The Mustangs connected on nine for the game. Wiley’s in-state losses are against #2 Kit Carson and #3 McClave so they’re battle tested. Top players include Macy Rowan and Taira Weber. Simla dropped to seventh in the rankings this week due to a 58-42 loss to Kit Carson. Halle Lutz scored 13 and Cede Smith 11 but the Cubs shot just 29 percent from the field compared to 50 for the Wildcats. Genoa Hugo remains below five hundred (2-4) but is starting to play better. They pushed Fleming in a 39-36 loss but then gave up just 39 combined points in beating Deer Trail and Cheyenne Wells. The Pirates have a very important league game with Byers coming up on Friday as well. Peyton (2A) has clinched a playoff berth by winning the Black Forest crown and Elbert hopes to push Simla inside the 1A Black Forest chase. Freshman Abbie Nickel leads Peyton with 12 points and seven rebounds a game. She was held to just three points but still managed 10 rebounds in last week’s loss to Fowler. Elbert split two games with Kiowa last week; the second resulting in their first loss of the season (29-27). Olivia Lay is their top scorer (14.5) and rebounder (9.5). She went for 17 points and 14 rebounds in the win over Kiowa but was held to a season low eight points with six rebounds in the loss. Both Shining Mountain and Belleview Christian are 5-1 on the season and both remain in the 5280 title chase. Shining Mountain, because of a loss to Flatirons Academy, has the bigger hill to climb. The Bruins are 2-0 in conference and tied with Flatirons and Rocky Mountain Lutheran in first. Belleview’s Bethany Long averages a double double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Emily Nelson is the top scorer at 14.7 per game. Shining Mountains’ defense gives up 32 points a game and offensively, Frances Hilliard (16.8) is the first option. She scored a season low eight points in the loss to Flatirons.
CLASS 2A
FINAL: #3 Holyoke beat Caliche 65-24
FINAL: #4 Rocky Ford beat Swink 43-31
FINAL: #5 Wray beat Hi Plains 60-22
FINAL: #6 Sedgwick County beat Wiggins 54-49
FINAL: #7 Cedaredge beat Olathe 54-30
FINAL: #8 Heritage Christian beat Dayspring Christian 69-28
FINAL: Paonia beat #10 Soroco 31-26
FINAL: Ignacio beat Mancos 48-25
NOTES: Holyoke and Sedgwick County look to gain quick leads early and rest some starters ahead of their showdown on Friday. Both clubs are unbeaten in league play so if both gain wins this evening, that battle will determine the outright lead. Holyoke has a quick turnaround following their win over Wiggins on Monday. They jumped to a 23-2 first quarter lead on their way to a 61-29 decision. Kristen Vieselmeyer hit nine of 13 shots; finishing with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Lauren Herman also grabbed 11 rebounds and hit three treys. Sedgwick County likely enjoyed some rest on Sunday and Monday after winning three games in three nights last week. The most important was the first as they won at Wray 65-63 to stay perfect in the Lower Platte. Allison Woodhams scored 19, Ashley Rahe 17, Kierra Ehnes 15 and Jensen Renquist 12 in the victory. Renquist then led the team with 18 against Burlington and 21 vs Dayspring Christian the next two nights. Cedaredge looks for the season sweep of Olathe as they topped the Pirates 50-26 back on February 2nd. The Bruins look to regenerate their offense after scoring just 27 in the two point loss to Paonia on Saturday. That loss prevented the Bruins from gaining a two game on the division. Now they sit with Paonia with Olathe lurking a game back. Paonia moved up to 11th in the 2A rankings because of the Cedaredge win and maybe they crack the top 10 by beating Soroco tonight. The Eagles gave up just nine field goals in beating Cedaredge. Payton Fisher scored seven to pace the offense. Soroco has won all 11 games by at least 11 points. Kaydence Bruner nailed five three-pointers on her way to a game-high 22 points in last week’s win over Meeker. Heritage Christian (5-0) sits alone atop the Mile High standings but Dayspring Christian is one of four teams with one league loss. Dayspring though has lost their last two; falling to Flatirons Academy 52-10 and Sedgwick County (49-29) last week. Heritage Christian has given up more than 28 points only once (Lyons). They average 21 steals per game including five apiece from Savannah Brown and Kali Siemers. Siemers is also averaging 24 points per game including 29 against Clear Creek. Ignacio and Mancos to determine which team stays tied with 1A Dove Creek in the San Juan. All three teams are unbeaten in the conference and together have won 12 of 14 games. Mancos gives up 15 points a game in three wins but surrendered 63 in an opening loss to Sanford. Ignacio also lost to Sanford (51-41) in their opener but has won three in a row; giving up just 52 points in the process. Wray should get a quick decision over Hi Plains and Rocky Ford is favored to stay perfect in the Santa Fe by beating Swink.
CLASS 3A
FINAL: #1 Vanguard beat #3 Centauri 62-58
FINAL: #2 Lutheran beat Stargate 71-13
FINAL: #7 Pagosa Springs beat Bayfield 45-23
FINAL: Peak to Peak beat Faith Christian 48-43
FINAL: Moffat County beat Coal Ridge 48-37
NOTES: Conference matchups draw the most attention at this time of year but hard not to lead off with the matchup of Vanguard and Centauri tonight. Both teams have spent time at number one this year; the Coursers moved into the top spot this week and Centauri was there two weeks ago. The Falcons are unbeaten on the season but somehow fell to fourth last week but are up to third this week. Schedule wise, Centauri faces their fourth top 10 opponent over the last five games with wins over Delta, Rye and Pagosa Springs previously. Vanguard opened with a top 10 win over Platte Valley and has added quality Tri Peaks wins against Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs Christian. Guard play will be strong in this one. Breanna McDaniel leads Centauri with 16.7 points, 3.7 assists and 3.4 steals per game. She adds 4.4 rebounds. The senior netted 30 points vs Montezuma Cortez last week and has hit at least two three-pointers in four of her last five games. Inside, the Falcons have the duo of Courtney Hamilton and Brynli Sowards who combine for 26 points and 14 rebounds. Hamilton has two double-doubles and Sowards has scored double figures in her last four games; with 17 rebounds in that stretch as well. Vanguard’s offense is led by Julianna Garcia with 17.8 points. She also provides nearly five rebounds, three assists and three steals per game. Ramiyah Bird is also one of the best all-around players in Class 3A; scoring 13.7 points with 8.8 rebounds, three assists and four steals. Olivia Caton also averages 10.5 points and five rebounds. Lutheran somehow dropped to second this week despite playing very well in a six-point loss to 5A #8 Chaparral. They should get an easy win over Stargate and #7 Pagosa Springs should get back in the win column against Bayfield. The Pirates fell to second in the IML with the loss to Centauri last week. Faith Christian looks to knock Peak to Peak from the unbeaten ranks. The Pumas are 4-0 in the Metro and share first place with Lutheran and Kent Denver. Faith Christian is joined by Machebeuf and Colorado Academy (one loss apiece) in a very crowded race. Peak to Peak gets 15 points and 11 rebounds a game from Mattie Stevens with Mary Reilly also scoring 13. Four players average between six and eight for Faith Christian and the Eagles enter on a three-game winning streak. Delta (2-0) and Basalt (3-0) head up the early Western Slope standings but Coal Ridge and Moffat County begin their schedule on the same court tonight. The Titans are 5-0 overall and the Bulldogs 4-2. Moffat County has played just one 3A opponent this year; beating up Middle Park 71-27. Since they’ve gone 2-1 against 4A competition. Emaleigh Papierski (15.8) and Halle Hamilton (11.2) top their offense. Coal Ridge is 4-0 against 4A teams including a nice 44-40 rivalry win over Rifle last Saturday. Taylor Wiescamp leads the Titans on offense (16.8) and rebounds (8.6).
CLASS 4A
FINAL: #2 George Washington beat Lincoln 83-6
FINAL: #5 Falcon beat Sierra 63-35
FINAL: #8 Classical Academy beat Elizabeth 53-13
FINAL: #10 Berthoud beat Mountain View 59-33
FINAL: Canon City beat Mesa Ridge 45-28
FINAL: Northridge beat Severance 63-49
FINAL: Glenwood Springs beat Palisade 43-42 (OT)
NOTES: Falcon (5-0) and Classical Academy (4-1) sit one-two in the Colorado Springs Metro North division and both need to avoid looking past tonight to their Thursday rematch. Falcon won the first meeting with the Titans (50-47) and that game separates the two in the conference standings. The Falcons clubbed Sierra 70-30 in their first meeting as Hannah Burg (18), Kilee Wood (15) and Billie Fiore (10) combined for 43 points. TCA rolled Elizabeth 51-16 in game one; outscoring the Cards 22-4 in the first half. Brooka Jones had 10 points and Kaelen Boyles nine rebounds. In the CS Metro South, Canon City (4-0) needs a win to stay alone atop the standings. They lead Mesa Ridge, Coronado and Palmer by one game as they close out the first round of league play. The Tigers have won each of their first four league games by at least 14 points apiece with Julia Nelson and Emily Till averaging 10 points per game. Mesa Ridge is playing catchup following an early league loss to Coronado (62-50). They’ve won their last two in conference. Berthoud and Severance (both 3-0) share the Longs Peak lead with Northridge part of a three-team tie for second. The Grizzlies fell to Berthoud (58-44) last Thursday and must win to stay within range of the leaders. Makenna Shaffer tallied 13 points but it wasn’t enough as the Grizzlies gave up an early eight-point advantage. Ally Padilla led Berthoud with 21 and Breanna Fowler added 16. Severance has a non-league win over Berthoud and those two collide on Thursday. It will be a battle for the lead if both teams win tonight. Palisade (3-1) and Glenwood Springs (2-1) are playing to stay one game back of league leaders Rifle and Battle Mountain (both 4-0). The Bulldogs also play Rifle on Thursday and the two leaders meet on Saturday so it’s an important week for the conference. George Washington (7-0) is heavily favored over Lincoln (1-5). The Patriots in fact have a much more attractive matchup with #4 Highlands Ranch (5A) tomorrow.
CLASS 5A
FINAL: #3 Regis beat Douglas County 61-18
FINAL: #4 Highlands Ranch beat Castle View 63-31
FINAL: #8 Chaparral beat Heritage 76-33
FINAL: #9 Rangeview beat Prairie View 78-23
FINAL: Ponderosa beat ThunderRidge 49-35
NOTES: Regis leads the Continental by one game over Highlands Ranch, Chaparral and Ponderosa. All four leaders are in action and all are expected to hold serve against teams below them in the league standings. ThunderRidge might be the toughest out. The Grizzlies are just 1-3 in conference play but losses have come against Regis, Highlands Ranch and Chaparral. They’ve been battle tested and of course there’s great winning tradition there. Ponderosa’s league loss came early to Regis but they’ve bounced back with wins over Legend, Mountain Vista and Rock Canyon. Kaitlyn Kyle, a transfer from 3A power Lutheran and Liberty Line pace the Mustangs with 10 points per game. Kaylie Spall adds nine. Rangeview should also get by Prairie View as the Raiders are 6-0 overall compared to 2-4 for the Thunderhawks. Rangeview opens the night tied with Westminster and Northglenn atop the EMAC. They collide with Northglenn on Thursday.
