A lights-out shooter throughout high school, Rocky Mountain senior Sara Chicco’s impact on the floor can in part be defined by the gobs of points she puts up on a nightly basis.
This winter, she is doing more of that, and a little more of everything else.
Surpassing 1,000 points in her career earlier in the month and averaging the second-most points in Class 6A at 22.6 PPG through five of the six games her team has put up stats for, Chicco is also posting career-best marks in rebounds (4.8 per game), assists (2.2) and steals (2.6) for the Lobos (4-2)
She opened the season with 34 points in a win over Montrose, hitting 8 of 9 attempts from behind the arc. She then packed the stats sheet in a win over Rangeview Dec. 9, her team’s last win ahead of a two-game slide, totaling 28 points, six rebounds and three steals.
In this week’s look at girls basketball in Colorado, let’s look at a few impactful 6A/5A/4A players from the first month of the season.
As to not highlight the same girls repeatedly — star and stats leaders like UCLA commit Sienna Betts (Grandview) and touted prospects Brihanna Crittendon (Riverdale Ridge) and Alexandra Eschmeyer (Peak to Peak) — let’s dignify them as “under the radar.”
Class 6A
Josie Lynch, Chatfield: The junior has four or more blocks in five of her six games for the Chargers (3-3). Her 4.6 average per game is currently tops in the classification.
The interior defensive standout helped hold Chatfield’s first three opponents to an average of just 25 PPG. She followed it up with a 16-point, five-block performance in a one-point loss to Rock Canyon last week.
Ava Gavi, Legend: The junior is 30 of 73 from 3-point-range (41%) through 11 games for the undefeated Titans (11-0). Last year, she was just 4 of 37 from deep.
In an eye-opening, 38-point win over 6A runner-up Monarch earlier in the month, she went 3 of 6 from 3. It was one of six games this season where she shot 50% or better from deep, hitting on 15 of her 26 attempts in those contests.
Class 5A
Kendra Ritzmann, Pomona: The senior was a double-double machine last season, averaging 11.6 PPG and 10.1 RPG. And she leads the classification in double-doubles early this year, totaling five in her first nine games.
How’s this for production: In a low-scoring, 31-23 win over Adams City on Dec. 2, Ritzmann had a game-high 13 points and 17 rebounds. Then less than a week later, she had 13 and 15 to go along with five steals in a 25-20 win over Skyline.
The Panthers are 5-4.
Taylin Serlen, Standley Lake: The Gators (8-0) are unbeaten. A big reason as to why is their 6-foot-2 center.
Serlen leads the classification at 22.9 PPG and is doing so while shooting 60%.
In a win over Kennedy Saturday, she scored a career-high 39 points, going 17 for 24 from the field, and had 12 rebounds and seven steals. She is averaging 9.4 boards and 4.4 steals this season.
Class 4A
Jaz Greenwood, Eagle Ridge Academy: The sophomore has a triple-double in 38% of her games (three of eight) this season for the Warriors (6-2).
Though a small sample size — consider this, the best percentage of triple doubles in career games played in the NBA are all below 20%, including the Denver Nuggets’ walking triple-double Nikola Jokic.
Greenwood is doing it by way of a points-rebounds-steals formula over what we traditionally see with points, boards and assists.
She had 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals in an opening-season, 28-27 win over Englewood. Her best line, though, came last week in a 54-27 win over Dawson: 20 points, 10 rebounds and 14 steals.
Olivia Klein, Resurrection Christian: The junior leads the class with 18 3-pointers made, shooting 47% from deep for the Cougars (5-2).
Leading her team at 16 PPG, she’s scored 20 or more in three games, including a season-high 24 in a win over Severance on Dec. 7.
A day later, she had 20 points, going 4 of 7 from 3, in a tight loss to defending 4A champ Holy Family. The Cougars’ only other loss came to 6A Mountain Vista last week.