We quickly move into week three of the girls’ basketball season and many league leaders across Classes 1A, 2A and 3A face off this week.  Results from those contests will weigh heavily on which teams earn automatic playoff bids as conference champs.  We look at each race in each division and go through the top games.

 

CLASS 1A

5280:  Rocky Mountain Lutheran (2-0) shares first place with Belleview Christian and Flatirons Academy (both 1-0) but Flatirons is now the favorite after beating Shining Mountain last week.  The Bison also visit Rocky Mountain Lutheran on Monday night in the most important game of this week.

BLACK FOREST:  Simla has the most wins in league play (3-0) but Elbert and Kiowa (both 1-0) are unbeaten until they meet on Wednesday.  That winner moves to the top of the list of challengers to Simla for the league crown.

HIGH PLAINS:  Kit Carson beat Cheraw last Friday in the only conference game to date.  The Wildcats are expected to battle McClave for the league championship later this year.  McClave has yet to play a conference game but will get that part of the schedule started at home against Eads.  The Eagles were unbeaten overall until last week’s loss to Wiley.

NORTH CENTRAL:  Fleming and Briggsdale are both 1-0 and will battle for the championship.  A change in the schedule due to the shortened season has them playing just once this season.  That game is set for the 22nd in Fleming and will determine the top two spots.

SOUTHERN PEAKS:  Sierra Grande (2-0) scored good wins over Mountain Valley and Antonito last week and the victories probably assured of the Panthers of a top two finish.  Sangre De Cristo is favored to land the crown and they scored a quality non-league win over Cotopaxi last week.  They have an excellent non-league battle with Sanford on Tuesday before returning to conference play against Antonito on Friday.  Antonito and Mountain Valley also face off on Saturday and that winner should end up no worse than third.

YWKC:  Lone Star’s win over Idalia last week likely decided the top two spots.  Arickaree/Woodlin could also be a factor as they’re 2-1 overall and enter this week tied with Lone Star at 1-0 atop the league standings.  The Indian-Mustangs and Idalia on Saturday.  Lone Star meantime has two non-league pairings with quality rivals Briggsdale and Longmont Christian.

ARK VALLEY:  All four teams have a chance to make the state playoffs.  Kim/Branson (5-0), Springfield (3-0), South Baca (2-1) and Wiley (3-2) are all good clubs.  The conference schedule opens on Friday as South Baca meets Springfield.

NON-LEAGUE:  Top games across the state will help determine where teams will end up in the state tournament bracket.

  • Simla at Kit Carson (Tuesday)
  • Sangre De Cristo at Sanford (Tuesday)
  • McClave at Wiley (Tuesday)
  • Briggsdale at Lone Star (Tuesday)
  • Lone Star at Longmont Christian (Thursday)
  • Cotopaxi at Kim/Branson (Friday)
  • Kit Carson at Fleming (Saturday)

 

CLASS 2A

BLACK FOREST:  Peyton (1-0) got their conference win over Calhan last week and that might be enough to secure the title since Colorado Springs School is not fielding a program this year.  Second place is probably between Calhan and Thomas MacLaren and since the Bulldogs won that matchup last week, they should get the spot.  Thomas MacLaren goes to Peyton on Wednesday needing a win to stay in the title discussion.

SANTA FE:  Rye and Fowler have begun the league play at 2-0 with Hoehne also sitting at 1-0.  Rocky Ford, which finished second last year, has yet to begun league play.  That changes this week as the Meloneers go to Holly on Thursday and Hoehne on Saturday.  In between, Hoehne visits Rye on Friday.

SOUTHERN PEAKS:  Sanford (2-0) was the preseason favorite and two weeks into the schedule sits tied with Sargent and Center (both 1-0).  Del Norte hasn’t played a league game but should be in the top two mix as well.  Sargent and Center meet up on Tuesday and that winner will be in better shape for a playoff berth.

LOWER PLATTE:  Holyoke, Sedgwick County and Wray are all 2-0 with Haxtun a game back at 1-1.  One of the leaders will fall off the pace on Thursday when Sedgwick County meets Wray.

SAN JUAN:  Dove Creek and Mancos are both 2-0 and have the early lead.  Defending champion Ignacio is battling injuries but has yet to start their league run.  Dolores can make the most noise this week as they visit Ignacio on Tuesday and host Dove Creek on Saturday.

UNION PACIFIC:  Limon has already beaten Burlington and Genoa Hugo so they’re in the drivers’ seat but they begin the week tied with Flagler (1-0).  That tie will be broken on Tuesday when the Badgers visit the Panthers on Tuesday.

WEST SLOPE NORTH:  A few games from last week were postponed so it appears that Soroco, Rangely and Vail Christian all share the early lead at 1-0.  North Park (1-1) is a game back with perennial challenger Meeker yet to play a conference game.  It’s a busy weekend with Soroco and North Park both involved in two important games.  The Rams head to Vail Christian on Friday and then host Meeker the next day.  North Park opens at home against Rangely and then entertains Vail Christian on Saturday.

WEST SLOPE SOUTH:  It appears to be a two-team race between Cedaredge and Paonia.  Both are 3-0 with every other league team already suffering two conference losses.  Cedaredge and Paonia face off this Friday and then meet again on the 25th.

MILE HIGH:  Dayspring Christian (3-0) has the most league wins but is in a first-place tie with Heritage Christian and Longmont Christian (both 2-0).  The best pairing this week has Longmont Christian at Dayspring Christian on Tuesday.

NON-LEAGUE:  At least four games on the non-conference slate feature clubs trying to make the 24-team state playoff bracket.

  • Flatirons Academy at Dayspring Christian (Thursday)
  • Sedgwick County at Burlington (Friday)
  • Center at Calhan (Saturday)
  • Dayspring Christian at Sedgwick County (Saturday)

 

CLASS 3A

METRO:  Lutheran, Kent Denver, Peak to Peak and Colorado Academy all picked up two conference wins last week and enter this week at 2-0.  Lutheran though scored the biggest win as they downed Faith Christian.  The Eagles are 1-1 and balanced their record by beating Machebeuf (1-1).  The only matchup of league leaders this week is on Tuesday as Colorado Academy welcomes in Kent Denver.

PATRIOT:  Eaton (3-0) and Brush (1-0) are the only league unbeatens left with top challenger Platte Valley yet to face a conference opponent.  The Broncos though step into the schedule with two important ones this week; hosting Brush on Tuesday and University on Saturday.  University snapped their three-game skid by beating Sterling last week but also has a conference loss to Brush.  Eaton’s best league win is against Resurrection Christian.

TRI PEAKS:  There was a very important game in the conference last week as Vanguard collected a win over Manitou Springs.  That result pushed the Coursers to 3-0 in the conference and tied with Ellicott (3-0) and St Mary’s (2-0) in the top spot.  Vanguard meets Colorado Springs Christian on Thursday.  That’s the first of two big ones for the Lions this week as they also challenge St Mary’s on Saturday.  St Mary’s also heads east to Lamar on Thursday.

WESTERN SLOPE:  Basalt is already 2-0 by beating Gunnison and Grand Valley and now the Longhorns look to challenge preseason favorites Delta and Moffat County.  Neither the Panthers nor Tigers have played a league game yet.  Basalt hosts Grand Valley in a league game on Saturday.  The Longhorns topped the Cards last week but it was a non-conference game.  Grand Valley also entertains an unbeaten Coal Ridge on Thursday.

CONFLUENCE:  Lotus (5-0) and Addenbrooke Academy (3-1) are the only two league members with more than two wins on the season overall.  They meet on March 4th and at this point, that outcome may determine which team advances to the state playoffs.  It’s likely the league gets just one bid this year.

FRONTIER:  Academy is heavily favored to win the title again this year and with wins in their first two league games, the Wildcats enter the week tied with Bennett (2-0) and Arrupe Jesuit (1-0) in first.  Middle Park (0-0) was the runner-up club a year ago.  The race could open a bit this week as Bennett visits Academy on Thursday and Middle Park goes to Arrupe Jesuit on Friday.

INTERMOUNTAIN:  Pagosa Springs (2-0) and Centauri (1-0) routinely battle for the league championship and the 2021 season is shaping up in the same manner.  They gather this Saturday for the first of two conference encounters.  The second meeting is March 5th.  The Pirates and Falcons are a combined 10-0.

NON-LEAGUE:  Couple of top 10 clubs in the divison challenge much bigger schools this week.

  • Fruita Monument at Delta (Friday)
  • Lutheran at Chaparral (Saturday)