Girls Basketball Weekend Preview

Didn’t take that long to see that the weekend ahead in girls’ basketball is a very important one for conference races and postseason bracketing. Two games on the slate pit the number one team in a division against a second ranked club and in each case the winner could land the conference championship and top district seed.

Both contests are in Northeast Colorado as #1 Holyoke visits #2 Sedgwick County in 2A and then on Saturday, #1 Briggsdale renews their great 1A rivalry with #2 Fleming.

Sedgwick County owns a 51-49 victory against Holyoke from December so some might believe the two teams should be flipped in the 2A rankings. That was a non-conference game but the Friday battle will help determine the top three spots in the Lower Platte. Each is unbeaten there and tied with Merino for the top spot.

In game one, Sedgwick County rallied from a six-point deficit at the end of the third quarter. They outscored the Dragons 17-9 over the final eight minutes to secure the win. Kierra Ehnes and Alison Woodhams each scored 14 to lead four Cougars in double figures. Abigail Dille finished with 13 and Jensen Renquist 13. Holyoke picked up 14 apiece from the senior duo of Lauren Herman and Kristin Vieselmeyer. Elyce Talavera added 11.

Holyoke won the three-point line 6-2 but the Cougars made 13 free throws compared to just seven for the Dragons. Holyoke collected 35 rebounds to 26 for Sedgwick County and each team committed just 12 turnovers.

Also in the Lower Platte this weekend are solid conference pairings between Wiggins-Yuma and Akron-Merino. Merino must win the battle of Rams to stay tied in first with the Holyoke-Sedgwick County winner. Wiggins played Sedgwick County very well in a loss last week and the outcome with Yuma will help sort out spots three through seven in a very good conference. Wiggins is 11^th in RPI and Yuma is 14^th. Akron by the way is 9^th despite a loss to Fleming on Thursday night.

The Briggsdale-Fleming has quite a bit riding on it; the winner will land the North Central title and get the number one district tournament seed. The winner should also earn a better regional and state tournament seed should both teams advance that far as expected. The Falcons also own a win over Flatirons Academy from December so a win over Fleming should make them the undisputed top playoff seed.

The players are very familiar with one another as most of the key contributors this season have been in the starting lineup since their freshman seasons. Briggsdale’s offense is keyed by Kylie Krise (22.7) and sophomore Jenna Krise (11.7) but juniors Peyton Nicklas (7.8) and Maggie Klem (5.9) can also contribute. Kyle Krise also leads the Falcons with 7.4 rebounds. Jenna Krise is also the leader in steals (3.5) and assists (5.0).

Fleming counters with the veteran trio of Whitney Chintala (15.3), Kally Kirkwood (9.8) and Zoe Vandenbark (4.2). They combine for 12 rebounds, seven assists and nine steals a game. Mixed in on offense are Madi Serrato (10.8) and Madison Harms (4.2).

Flatirons Academy is ranked third in Class 1A so they will keep a close eye on the Briggsdale-Fleming outcome. It will help determine their postseason placement as well. But the Bison also have a key game on Saturday as they host Front Range Baptist. They’re a combined 5-0 in the 5280 conference so the winner takes over the top spot. Flatirons is the defending state champion and heavily favored. They’re 11-1 on the season with the loss to Briggsdale. Front Range Baptist is just 4-5 this season with three of those wins inside the conference.

Second place in the 1A YWKC will go to the Friday winner between Arickaree/Woodlin and Idalia. Each have one league loss to champion Lone Star and now collide for the runner-up spot. Idalia is ranked 10^th in the state and would like a win to build on momentum created with a win over Wray and a strong showing against Fleming last week. Arickaree/Woodlin lost to Lone Star on Thursday and must quickly rebound.

4^th ranked McClave looks to finish a busy and difficult week with a league win over Kit Carson this evening. The Cardinals have already beaten one-loss opponents Kim/Branson and South Baca this week and a victory on Friday keeps them tied with Cheyenne Wells atop the 1A High Plains.

Maggie Chase led the Cardinals with 20 points and six rebounds in the win over Kim/Branson. She also knocked in three treys. Kennedy Vallejos connected on two three-pointers and managed a team high nine points in the low scoring win over South Baca (38-28). Chase had five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Anna Beckett and McKayla Kiniston each had five steals as the Cardinals picked up 21 as a team.

Up in Class 2A, 3^rd ranked Rye is heavily favored to land another Santa Fe championship. They enter the weekend tied with 10^th ranked Hoehne in the top spot. Those two collide next Tuesday but up first for Hoehne is a tough test against Fowler. The Grizzlies are alone in third so the outcome could easily decide second place behind the unbeaten Thunderbolts.

Hoehne is 12-1 overall with a single loss suffered to Kim/Branson (33-30). Since that contest, the Farmers have reeled off ten straight victories. Sophomore Trynity Martin (11.3) and senior Naveah Martinez (10.1) are double digit scorers for the Hoehne offense.

Fowler is 4-5 on the season and their conference loss came against Rye (71-15). They rebounded with a solid win over Rocky Ford (32-29) last Saturday. Freshman Gracie Osborne led the way with eight points and sophomore Alyssa Maestas added seven. Osborne also added seven assists.

There’s a three-way tie between Limon, Byers and Burlington atop the 2A/1A Union Pacific but one will fall off the pace when Byers goes to Burlington on Saturday. The Bulldogs enter at 2-0 in the conference thanks to wins over Genoa Hugo (38-13) and Flagler (53-29). Burlington is much better than the record indicates (4-7) as they’ve won three of four overall including a 47-27 win over #6 Stratton (1A) on Thursday. Four of their five losses are to ranked teams Merino, Yuma, Wray and Holyoke with a fifth suffered last week to 3A Brush (39-36).

The Cougars are young with freshman Kiyarra Williams (13.9) and sophomore Trinitee Holmes (12.7) combining for nearly 26 points per game. Byers is the opposite as seniors Symantha Linnebur (9.6) and Tori Shockman (8.8) are their top two scorers. They’ve helped the Bulldogs win four straight since a tough 1-5 start.

Cedaredge goes to West Grand with a share of second place to Soroco in the 2A/1A Western Slope on the line. Both have one league loss going in. The Bruins fell to Soroco earlier this month (42-41) while West Grand came up short to North Park last Friday (59-54). The Cedaredge press could be the difference in this one as they generate nearly 19 steals per game. Megan Gastineau and Paige McGovern each collect three apiece.

Western Colorado is the focus inside Class 3A as key conference games feature Pagosa Springs at Alamosa in the IML and Moffat County at Delta in the WSL. Both games are on Saturday.

Alamosa is alone in first atop the IML standings but has played just one conference game. Ironically, that win came against Pagosa Springs last Friday and now the two teams meet eight days later. Scheduling in the conference has been disrupted due to COVID concerns and other quirks include Centauri and Montezuma Cortez playing each other twice this week.

In game one, Alamosa rallied three down in the fourth to stun the Pirates 38-32 on the road. They outscored the Pirates 16-7 in the fourth quarter. Neither team shot well as the Moose picked up the win despite hitting just 27 percent of their shots. Mary Masias scored ten points and Charly Higham added seven for the winners. Chantelle Caldwell led Pagosa Springs with 10.

Pagosa Springs has won three straight since the first meeting including a 47-39 league win over Centauri last Saturday. A win gives them a share of the conference lead with Alamosa and the winner of Centauri-Montezuma Cortez on Saturday. A loss though drops them two back of Alamosa in the loss column.

Moffat County took out top 10 opponent Coal Ridge to open conference play last Thursday and looks for a similar effort against 9^th ranked Delta this Saturday. The two share the very early lead with #7 Grand Valley atop the Western Slope standings.

The Bulldogs have played well of late. We mentioned the win over Coal Ridge and they added a solid win over 4A Montrose on Thursday as they outscored the Indians 21-9 in the second quarter. That win alone bumped the Bulldogs from 26^th to 18^th in the latest RPI standings.

Delta is 16^th in the same poll. The Panthers are 8-2 overall but unbeaten against 3A teams with losses against Montrose and 5A Fruita Monument. They have rolled Gunnison (64-18) and Roaring Fork (75-19) in league play but enter a key five day stretch as they also meet Coal Ridge on Tuesday. They tangle with Grand Valley on February 11^th.

Erika Kuta is having a tremendous senior season for Delta as she leads the club in scoring (14.6), rebounding (7.8) and steals (3.7).

The top two clubs in Class 4A face major challenges this weekend as #1 Windsor looks to lock down the Northern chase against #4 Mead and second ranked Mullen continues the brutal Centennial run against 5A #2 Grandview.

Windsor was very impressive on Tuesday in taking out #5 Holy Family 60-31. The defensive effort was brilliant as the Wizards held Holy Family to just 35 field goal attempts and only eight makes for the entire game. They also kept the Tigers 0-7 from the three-point line. The win pushed the Wizards to 14-0 on the season and another victory over Mead should give the Wizards the league championship as they’ll be heavily favored in their final three games against Erie, Silver Creek and Greeley West.

Mead (14-1) hasn’t played Holy Family so even with an upset of Windsor, the Mavericks cannot celebrate a league championship. The Mavericks only loss this season is against 3A #1 and defending state champion Platte Valley by one point (48-47). They also own an overtime victory against 5A Chaparral (65-62) so they will be a tough out for the top ranked Wizards. Mead has attempted 352 three’s and made 112 through 15 games. Edie Morrow (26), Maddox Boston (25) and Kyra Haan (24) have combined for 75.

Mullen beat Grandview 58-46 in the first conference meeting back on January 15^th but the Mustangs have dropped two other league games so they still trail the Wolves by one game in the conference standings. Arapahoe (4-0), which has a very tough date with Cherry Creek on Saturday, is alone in first with Grandview (3-1) in second. Mullen and Cherry Creek are both 3-2 so the standings and tied for third. Wins by the Mustangs and Bruins leave all four teams within one game of the conference lead entering the final three weeks of the season.

Lauren Betts totaled 17 points in the first game. The Grandview senior hit seven of 11 shots but teammates connected on just 11 of 34 attempts and a combined 29 points. They’ll look for better balance in the rematch. Mullen has battled injuries of late but picked up 21 points and three three-pointers from Gracie Gallegos in the earlier win.

8^th ranked Roosevelt could be a team to watch in Class 4A this year. With 11 straight wins, the Riders have bumped to 14-2 overall and stand alone atop the Longs Peak race (6-0). Starting the week, Roosevelt shared the lead with Thompson Valley with a one game edge on both Riverdale Ridge and Berthoud. They knocked off Thompson Valley on Tuesday 64-62; rolled Riverdale Ridge 57-41 on Thursday and on Friday battle Berthoud. Another win clinches the league championship.

Those wins are coming with an extremely young lineup as the top five scorers are either freshmen or sophomores. That list includes double digit scorers Ryanne Bahnsen-Price (11.6), Brynn Price (10.8) and Brook Meza (10.0).

Berthoud (13-2) dropped a league game to Thompson Valley (57-42) but has won their last three. A win puts them in position to win the championship as they have a win over Riverdale Ridge. Ally Padilla and Aidan Carr combine for 30 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and seven steals per game.

Elsewhere in Class 4A, Canon City goes to Mesa Ridge with the winner landing the top spot in the CS Metro South race. The Tigers are 4-0 and Grizzlies are 5-0. They also meet again on February 17^th and with every other league team already having at least two losses, those two games should determine first and second. Canon City is 12^th in RPI and Mesa Ridge 18^th.

In the CS Metro North, Classical Academy (3-0) is alone in first and should stay that way with a win over fourth place Sand Creek (2-1) on Friday. Elizabeth and Falcon are both 2-1 and sit in between. They play on Friday as well with the winner taking over second place midway through the conference slate.

Up in 5A, the very crowded Front Range chase will continue to sort out. Rocky Mountain (4-0) is alone in first thanks to an upset of #3 Monarch this week. Sara Chicco (30) and Delaney Matkin (26) both had huge offensive nights in the win. They combined for nine three pointers on 21 attempts.

That win pushed the Lobos to 4-0 in conference play and they head to the weekend with a one game edge on Monarch, Fossil Ridge, Horizon and Poudre. Monarch and Poudre play on Friday while Fossil Ridge has a tough date with Fort Collins. The Lobos also face the Lambkins on Saturday and tangle with Loveland the night before.

There are also non-league games of note on tap this weekend. Most are in the 2A ranks including a tough back-to-back for defending state champion.