It’s a very important day for girls’ basketball teams in Classes 1A through 3A as eight state tournament qualifiers will be determined in each class. There are a combined 24 games on the schedule today and every winner earns a state tournament berth. As we’ve done throughout the season, Colorado Preps will provide a daily blog of the events with results and what they mean. Once we get a long list of state qualifiers, we can then start to process where the clubs may land in the state tournament pairings. Updates will be made throughout the day so we invite you to check back often.
6:19pm: State tournament qualifiers for Class 1A – RPI should be updated soon and then we’ll take a look at the bracket possibilities.
- Cotopaxi (19-4)
- McClave (16-6)
- Fleming (21-2)
- Shining Mountain (18-4)
- Sangre De Cristo (20-3)
- Springfield (19-2)
- Briggsdale (22-1)
- South Baca (19-3)
6:17pm: South Baca is the eighth and final state qualifier to the 1A state tournament as they rolled Eads 54-18 this evening.
5:53pm: Briggsdale is the seventh qualifier to the 1A state bracket as they take out Merino 61-35 this evening. The Falcons are 22-1 and opened the weekend #2 in RPI so they will have a case to be the number one overall seed. They’re battling Springfield, South Baca and Fleming for that spot.
5:41pm: In Class 2A, three leagues will send two entries to the state quarterfinals. Holyoke and Wray qualified from the Lower Platte; Sanford and Del Norte from the Southern Peaks with Rye and Holly both making it from the Santa Fe. The remaining two teams are from the Union Pacific (Limon) and San Juan (Ignacio).
5:39pm: The Patriot has the most league members in the 3A state quarterfinals as University, Eaton and Brush all posted wins in regional finals today. Both the IML (Pagosa Springs & Centauri) and Tri Peaks (St Mary’s, Vanguard) will send two teams with Delta as the lone Western Slope entry.
4:08pm: Starting some research for the state tournament – found out the Springfield girls will be making just their second ever state tournament appearance. First and last came in 1982 when they went 2-1. They downed Calhan 63-40 in the third place game after falling to Fowler in the semifinals.
3:38pm: Sanford scored the last nine points of the game to upset Heritage Christian in Loveland today. The final score was 46-37 but in the final few minutes, the game was tied at 37. Sanford was the #8 seed at the state tournament a year but upset Limon in the quarterfinals. They return to the tournament this year and could be seeded anywhere from 4-7th.
3:37pm: On the seed line, Springfield was the underdog to Genoa Hugo but the Longhorns entered the weekend #1 in RPI so it’s not surprising they beat the Pirates this afternoon. The final was 59-41 and now the Longhorns move into the state quarterfinals with a chance to be the top overall seed. They are the sixth state qualifier.
3:36pm: Ignacio uses a 43-28 win over Rocky Ford to become the seventh 2A team to qualify for the state tournament. The Bobcats are 18-5 on the season but will likely be in the back half of the tournament seeds when the bracket is released on Sunday. They’re joined in the field by Holyoke, Wray, Rye, Holly, Del Norte and Limon thus far. The last spot goes to the winner of Sanford and Heritage Christian.
3:18pm: Two o’clock games are starting to go final with the first win of the bunch going to Limon. The Badgers dumped Hotchkiss 79-39 and will reach the state tournament with the win. Limon was the #2 seed in regionals as they trailed Holyoke in RPI. But since they beat the Dragons during the regular season, it’s a good bet the Badgers will end up with the number one seed ahead of the state quarterfinals.
2:46pm: We’ve also added quite a few teams to the 2A state tournament over the past 10 minutes as Holyoke, Wray, Rye, Del Norte and Holly all advanced. Holly is the #23 seed but they took advantage of foul trouble with Simla to beat the Cubs 47-35. Wray also used a strong rally at the end of the game to upend #3 Meeker 57-55. Three more spots remain up for grabs and once those games go final we can start projecting the potential 2A state quarterfinals. RPI numbers should be updated later today.
2:44pm: Class 3A state quarterfinals are almost set – games are next Thursday at Hamilton Gym on the campus of Denver University.
- #1 St Mary’s vs #9 Vanguard
- #4 Delta vs #5 Pagosa Springs
- #10 Eaton vs #18 Brush
- #3 University vs Alamosa/Centauri winner
2:43pm: We can add Brush to the list of 3A qualifiers as the Beetdiggers rallied past unbeaten Academy for a 62-57 road victory. They’re the third Patriot league team in the Great 8; joining University and Eaton in the state quarterfinals.
2:41pm: A flurry of finishes from the one o’clock games so we have some catching up to do. Several teams advanced in Class 3A as St Mary’s, Vanguard, Pagosa Springs, Delta, Eaton and University picked up wins almost all at the same time. Two were lower seeds advancing as #9 Vanguard beat #8 Faith Christian 47-35 and #10 Eaton took out #7 Lutheran 42-36.
2:14pm: Shining Mountain avenges a regular loss to Flatirons Academy by beating the Bison 39-28 in a regional final. The Lions become the 4th team to enter the 1A bracket joining Cotopaxi, Fleming and McClave. The Lions started the weekend #5 in RPI and will enter state play with a record of 19-5.
12:38pm: We’re approaching the busiest stretch of the day where 14 games tip off between 12:45pm and 1:00pm. Check our daily scoreboard to keep up to date on the all the results. We’ll post here as quickly as possible when games conclude but there are five state tourney berths up for grabs in Class 2A and seven in Class 3A. Two will be determined in Class 1A.
12:31pm: A tremendous rally for Fleming as they bounced Lone Star 52-45 after trailing by 18 points at halftime. The Wildcats opened the weekend at #4 in RPI and are battling the likes of Springfield, Briggsdale and South Baca for the top four seeds.
12:14pm: McClave is the second team to earn a 1A state tournament berth as they beat Kim/Branson 32-24. The Cards outscored the Mustangs 15-2 in the decisive fourth quarter. They’re off to the state tourney for the first time since 2011 and opened the day #12 in RPI.
11:18am: Cotopaxi is the first entrant into the 1A state tournament as the Pirates down Dove Creek 41-32. It’s the Pirates first trip to the state tournament since 1991 as they end a nearly 30-year absence. They have just one state tournament win in school history and that came in 1984 against Peetz (47-45). Cotopaxi opened the day #11 in RPI.
8:48am: The busiest window for today is at 1:00pm where a total of 13 games are scheduled to tipoff and that’s a big stretch for Class 3A. Seven of the eight regional finals for that class are at that time so virtually the entire state tournament field will be determined over a 90-minute period. Class 2A will also crown five of their regional champions at that time.
8:43am: Action gets underway very early today with the first game set to tip off at 10:00am at Western State University in Gunnison. That’s the site of the 1A Western regional where two state bids will go out. Up first is the battle between Cotopaxi and Dove Creek. Dove Creek is the District 1 champion while Cotopaxi placed second to Sangre De Cristo in District 6. Then at 11:00am, two 1A games start with Lone Star and Fleming battling for a spot from the Northeast and Kim/Branson meeting McClave in the Southeast. The last contest of Saturday is set for a 5:00pm tipoff between Eads and South Baca.
8:30am: Must admit it’s a bit unusual to enter regional tournament Saturday without either Yuma or Kit Carson on the schedule. Both tradition rich programs were eliminated from the post-season on Friday and it drew to a close a dominant run for both clubs. Kit Carson of course landed the last three Class 1A state championships and the Wildcats won those games by a combined 74 points. They had also been to the state tournament each of the past six years. Yuma grabbed the last two and three of the last four state titles in Class 2A. The loss on Friday also ended an incredible run of reaching the state championship game six of the last seven years.
