Some nice and very important matchups are on the Wednesday girls’ basketball schedule. Very early but critical conference games can be found in Class 3A while Ralston Valley and Valor Christian collide in a big 5A Jeffco showdown.
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Photo by OT SportsChek.
CLASS 3A
FINAL: #2 Lutheran beat Faith Christian 47-25
FINAL: Brush beat #3 University 62-56
FINAL: #4 Vanguard beat Salida 75-21
FINAL: #6 Eaton beat Valley 51-18
FINAL: #9 St Mary’s beat Vista Ridge 72-35
FINAL: Colorado Academy beat Prospect Ridge 46-34
NOTES: Two very important conferences on the list tonight as the winner between Lutheran and Faith Christian will be poised to run the table and win the Metro championship. Along with Eaton and Platte Valley, University and Brush are expected to contend for the Patriot championship so the winner gains a quality league victory very early in the schedule. Lutheran and Faith Christian know each well. Head coaches Mark Duitsman (Lutheran) and Dominic Vigil (Faith) spent time together on the Lutheran bench so there will be very few secrets in strategy, if any. Lutheran has two high quality wins already; beating 4A power Holy Family 59-44 and then stunning University (36-35) with a three-pointer at the buzzer. Raelyn Kelty, with 11 points and two treys, paced the Lions in that win while Kallie Lemon added three treys for her nine points. Faith Christian fell to top 10 ranked Platte Valley (54-32) in their opener. Eight players scored with Kristen Hegarty pacing the team with seven. She and Annika Carlson both netted a three-pointer. Colorado Academy and Prospect Ridge have the Metro undercard tonight but both should be in the chase for a top four league finish. They enter tonight’s league opener a combined 3-0 on the young season. University led Lutheran by six points entering the fourth quarter but was outscored 16-9 over the final eight minutes. Kylie Kravig topped the offense with 17 points and Miranda Weideman grabbed nine rebounds. The Bulldogs also own a 54-42 win over 4A Greeley Central. Brush will be seeing their first 3A opponent of the season after beating Yuma 61-37 and losing to Holyoke 69-45 in week one. They have good depth with six players averaging at least five points per game. Kashlynn Tadolini paces the ‘Diggers in points (11.0) and rebounds (6.0). Vanguard and St Mary’s look to continue their high scoring ways. Vanguard racked up 89 points against Vanguard and has 147 over two games. St Mary’s has 154 total points including 88 their last time out against James Irwin.
CLASS 4A
FINAL: #2 Green Mountain beat Golden 74-23
FINAL: #5 Windsor beat Frederick 90-36
FINAL: Mead beat #8 Thompson Valley 62-48
FINAL: #9 Severance beat Skyline 53-22
FINAL: Palmer Ridge beat Liberty 55-41
NOTES: Green Mountain and Golden have had their share of tight finishes over the years but the rivalry game this year could be one sided. The Rams are a strong contender for a state title but the Demons are in a bit of rebuild mode this year (1-2). They did post a win over Alameda in their last game but before had totaled just 34 points in losses to 5A rivals Arvada West and Chatfield. Two seniors, Marie Lenz and Erika Dowell, combine for nearly 16 points and 14 rebounds a game. Green Mountain has won their first three games by a combined 106 points but did play a tight game with Ponderosa (61-51). Jayda Maves (18) and Avery Oaster (15) together scored 33 points while Courtney Hank added 12 points and 12 rebounds. Frederick gave up 63 points in an opening loss to Northridge and now face a Windsor offense that rang up 72 points in a opening win over 5A ranked Ralston Valley. That offense is led by Jolie Jiricek (17.5) and Olivia Reed (14.0). Reed also tops the Wizards with 11 rebounds a night. Thompson Valley is in the top 10 this week thanks to wins over Severance (63-54) and Mountain View (63-29). Amelia Solt has proven to be one of the top scorers statewide so far this season with 26 and 25 points in her first two outings. Mead (0-1) will be a tough out as the Mavericks played well against tradition rich ThunderRidge (5A) in their first game; falling 48-45. Severance responded to the Thompson Valley loss by stunning Berthoud (63-56) three nights later. The Silver Knights are favored tonight against a Skyline team that lost to Northfield in their opener. Palmer Ridge and Liberty was slated to be a battle of undefeated teams but the Bears fell from those ranks on Monday in a 65-57 loss to Doherty. Liberty is 2-0; having outscored Pueblo South and Vista Ridge by a combined 22 points. Taylor Gossage (17.5) and Jacy Rohr (15.5) are their first two options offensively. The Bears counter with balance as seven players score between four and 12 points a game.
CLASS 5A
FINAL: #2 Valor Christian beat #8 Ralston Valley 65-63
FINAL: #7 Fossil Ridge beat Fort Collins 55-31
NOTES: Since they toppled Lakewood on Monday, Ralston Valley can take complete control of the Jeffco chase by upsetting Valor Christian. It won’t be easy as the Eagles have been one of the most impressive teams through the first ten days of the season. They have momentum after beating Highlands Ranch (65-52) on Saturday. Haley Huard finished with 20 points while Kindyll Wetta added 14 and Jenna Siebert 11. Their defense also limited the Falcons to just 34 percent shooting in the game (21-62). Ralston Valley jumped on Lakewood early with a 16-3 run in the first quarter and put the game with another 20-5 spurt in the third. Sydney Bevington topped the scoresheet with 17 points to go along with 13 rebounds, two assists and three steals. Four different Mustangs also hit a three-pointer. The Fossil Ridge-Fort Collins battle is a non-league game as the city rivals meet on the 17th for the Front Range battle. The Sabercats are favored. They’re 2-0 while the Lambkins have opened with losses to Rocky Mountain and Poudre. A freshman, Penley Park, is their top scorer at 10.5 points per game. Sophomore Kate Davis leads the Sabercats with 14.5 points per game while Karly Larson pulls down nearly 10 rebounds each contest.
