After making the Class 3A Sweet 16 last season, the Roaring Fork girls basketball team got its first taste of success in several years.

Now, the Rams are pushing for greatness.

There are about a dozen teams in the entire state that own 10 wins so far this 2024-25 season, and Roaring Fork is one of them. The girls have averaged 65.7 points per game in three games coming off the holiday break, and a sweep of Basalt, North Fork and Grand Valley has brought them to a 10-0 mark and a No. 5 ranking in the CHSAA Selection & Seeding Index.

Seniors Erica and Carley Crownhart have taken charge of their team’s offense. Carley leads RFHS in scoring at 18.4 points per game, while Erica’s team-leading 3.2 assists per game complement her 6.6 ppg, too. And Riley Bevington’s success has continued in her sophomore year, as she’s up to 12.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.

A fun matchup awaits the Rams on Friday night. Cedaredge (8-0, 3A No. 8) will make the trek to Carbondale in what should be a back-and-forth battle. While CHS swept the series in 2022-23 and typically has had solid results against RFHS, it was Roaring Fork that swept a two-game set last season.

Up to the hype

McClave held serve in its home nonleague game against Hoehne on Saturday, but the Cardinals and Farmers provided a playoff-worthy performance in MHS’ 53-49 victory. Hoehne led by 11 at halftime, 30-19, before the hosts roared back to within one point by the end of the third quarter and eventually clamped down on defense to get the win.

Junior Abrielle Gomez was a monster at the line, going 11-for-14 on free throws, on her way to 23 points. Hoehne sophomore Braylee Foster notched her third-straight double-digit scoring game with 16 points, which included eight field goals.

Now 8-0, the Cardinals travel to Boise City, Okla., on Tuesday night before facing 5-2 Springfield on Thursday. Hoehne, now 7-2, stayed at No. 6 in the 2A Index ahead of this week’s games against Walsenburg and Simla (6-1, 2A No. 3 Index).

Trudging through the mud

Stratton has but six games under its belt so far, meaning the back end of its schedule is packed with live-game action. As if that wasn’t enough, the January slate for the Eagles (6-0, 1A No. 2) is akin to an American Ninja Warrior course.

Beginning with Tuesday’s matchup against Cheyenne Wells (5-3, 1A No. 11), the Eagles are in a stretch of six straight contests against teams ranked in the top-10 of either the 2A or 1A Index. After the Tigers, in just the next five days alone, Statton faces Sedgwick County (2A No. 10) on Thursday and Merino (2A No. 2) on Saturday. Then comes Eads, McClave, Fleming and Kit Carson to finish the month.