Many girls’ basketball games have been cancelled for tonight but the schedule is still filled with important games. Kit Carson has a chance to clinch a league title while the likes of Holyoke, Pagosa Springs, University and Delta can move very close to wrapping up crowns with wins tonight. We run through the best matchups.
Photo is provided by John Contreras.
Kit Carson at Cheraw: The three-time defending state champions can lock up another High Plains championship with a road win at Cheraw. The Wildcats are 3-0 in league play with a one game edge on Eads and Cheraw with two league games left. They’ve already beaten Eads so a win this evening gives them the title. Kit Carson ended a eight game winning streak with a 42-37 loss to Springfield; their second loss of the season to the Longhorns. Reyna Isenbart had 12 points and six rebounds in the loss while Stephanie Framel added six points and nine rebounds. Cheraw has won two straight including a 31-28 road win at Cheyenne Wells last Friday that kept them in the league title discussion. McKenzie Bartholomew had eight points and five others finished with four. Marisol Marquez collected seven rebounds.
Cotopaxi at Sierra Grande: These two clubs are battling with Moffat for spots two through four in the 1A Southern Peaks and the same seeds for the district tournament. All three have one league loss and are one game back of Sangre De Cristo. Cotopaxi (11-3) is favored as they have six more wins overall. They also pushed Sangre De Cristo last month before falling 34-27. Koylynn Guliford scores 16 points with nearly nine rebounds per game while Shealee Coleman and Claire Carlson both average nine points. Sierra Grande has a league loss to Moffat (53-46) so another loss likely leaves them at no better than a fourth-place finish. Alexa Ontiveros (9.9) is the top scorer and Mariana Loya (5.6) the top rebounder.
Merino at Holyoke: Having already beaten Wray, Sedgwick County and Yuma, this is likely the last hurdle sitting between Holyoke and the 2A/1A Lower Platte championship. Merino is just one game back in the loss column and despite a loss to Sedgwick County (38-26) last week, the Rams are still in the championship chase. They’ve struggled of late however. In addition to the league loss, Merino was blown out by Limon (67-28) the next night as they trailed 20-2 after one quarter. This week also marks a difficult back-to-back as the Rams also meet Yuma tomorrow. Holyoke has won all four league games by at least 12 points and is coming off a 52-31 win over Yuma last Friday. Kristen Vieselmeyer tallied 26 points and 12 rebounds in the win. She added four steals and two assists.
Rangely at Meeker/Soroco at Hotchkiss: A couple of very important games in the 2A/1A Western Slope where Meeker looks to hang on to sole possession of first place and Soroco-Hotchkiss battle for second place. Rangely is tied for fifth with Hayden and Plateau Valley but the Panthers will be a very tough out as they’re coming off a win over Hotchkiss last week where they handed the Bulldogs their first league loss. Mary Scoggins netted 15 points and 15 rebounds. Adelynn Halcomb added 11 points and five steals for the Panthers. They limited Hotchkiss to just 18 percent shooting as well (13-71). That result left Meeker alone in first. They’ve won eight straight games with the most recent over Plateau Valley 62-41. Four players reached double figures; Julia Dinwiddie had 21, Sarah Kracht 15, Kirsten Brown 14 and Tilly Brown 10. Soroco has won their last three since falling to DeBeque and that includes a tough 38-32 win at Rangely last Friday. The Rams were 6-19 from the three-point line with Kayedence Bruner hitting two and finishing with a game 11 points.
Pagosa Springs at Centauri: Round two of the 3A IML schedule opens in a big way as the top two clubs face off for a second time. Pagosa Springs won the first meeting 49-35 and that result separates the two atop the standings. And although not official, a win by Pagosa should direct them to the championship as they would create a two-game lead on all other clubs. A fast start was the key to game one as the Pirates jumped to a 15-3 first quarter lead. From that point on, the game was even with Pagosa Springs winning 34-32. Adelyn Dozier topped Pagosa with 14 points but there was depth as Taylor Lewis finished with nine, Hailey Griego eight, Molly Grahm seven, Teagan Stretton six and Elsa Lindner five. Centauri made just 11 of 40 field goal attempts (28) and missed all nine three-point shots. The Falcons have won three straight since including an important 44-40 win over Alamosa. Mia Garcia (15), Courtney Hamilton (12) and Brenna McDaniel (10) all reached double figures.
Platte Valley at University: A win tonight leaves University just one win away from clinching the 3A Patriot championship. A loss though creates a three-way tie for the lead with the Broncos and Eaton. University is 7-0 in the conference with Eaton 6-1 and Platte Valley 5-1. The Bulldogs have not lost since Christmas; winning nine games including overtime conference wins over Resurrection Christian and Eaton. They’re coming off a 48-43 road win at Estes Par on Tuesday night. Taylor Gollhofer and Kylie Kravig (both 13.7) share the scoring lead with Taryn Kravig (10.0) also in double figures. Miranda Wiedeman (7.1) and Gollhofer (6.0) also combine for 13 rebounds on the inside. Platte Valley’s league loss was against Eaton (56-48) but they’ve since beaten Strasburg, Frontier Academy, Liberty Common and Estes Park by double digits. They were also involved in a very good game with Vanguard before falling 50-46 last week. Sophomores Cora Schissler (15.1) and Brooke Bunting (11.8) share the scoring lead. They’re followed by freshmen and younger sisters Bree Bunting (9.2) and Andi Schissler (7.3).
Moffat County at Delta: Delta (5-0) needs a win to remain alone atop the 3A Western Slope standings. Moffat County (4-1) joins Cedaredge and Roaring Fork as one loss teams trying to chase down the Panthers. Delta moves very close to wrapping up the championship as they’re already posted wins over the Bruins and Rams. Their 33-31 win over Cedaredge came on Tuesday night behind 11 points from Keely Porter and nine from Erika Kuta. Despite the win, the Panthers struggled in shooting, connecting on 7 of 16 from the free throw line and 12-37 from the field. They did win the turnover battle; committing just 17 compared to 23 for the Bruins. Moffat County fell short to Cedaredge (42-38) last week so another loss knocks them out of the championship picture. Cayden King, with 13 points and seven rebounds a game, continues to lead both categories. Halle Hamilton dishes out 3.2 assists and Stephanie Swindler collects over three steals.
Berthoud at Erie: UPDATE: This game has been cancelled and possibly rescheduled. It’s already been a big week for Erie as the Tigers picked up their first ever win over Holy Family (52-50) on Tuesday night. That win also tightened up the Tri Valley chase as the Tigers improved to 9-2 to remain one back of both Holy Family and Berthoud (both 11-1). Berthoud has a rematch with Holy Family next week and a win tonight makes that showdown a likely league championship battle. Erie picked up 18 points and 16 rebounds Anna Hefner against Holy Family. Deb Altshuler, with 10 points and nine rebounds, also came close to a double-double. Berthoud won the first game with Erie (67-58). Breanna Fowler (24), Ally Padilla (13), McKayla Milan (11) and Emily Cavey (10) all scored in double figures. Cavey added 10 rebounds and Celsey Selland nine plus the Spartans connected on 18 of 21 foul shots.
Broomfield at Fairview: UPDATE: This game was cancelled about five minutes after the story was posted – It’s a three-team chase in the 5A Front Range as these two clubs and Fossil Ridge are all 7-0 with a three-game edge on the rest of the conference. The winner stays in position for a conference championship while the loser will still finish among the top three. Fossil Ridge is favored against Fort Collins tonight and will face Broomfield on the 14th and Fairview the 18th. Courtney Wristen tops Broomfield in scoring (14.8), rebounds (9.6) and blocks (2.3). The 6-2 junior has reached double figures in all but one game this season and has four double-doubles in conference action. She totaled 15 points with 10 rebounds against Mountain Range last week and followed up with 12 and 10 on Tuesday against Loveland. Izzy Munson (22.9) is the first option offensively for the Knights. She also adds three assists and nearly four steals per game. The senior has scored 30 points twice this season and her season low is 13 which came in the season opener against Denver East. Munson also has 32 three-pointers including four against Legacy last week.
