Two days remain in the girls’ basketball regular season and there’s much to decide on this Friday. We preview the best matchups in all classes including the start of post-season action in Classes 2A and 3A.
Photo by John Contreras.
Kit Carson at McClave: The winner is the 1A High Plains league champion and top district seed. The teams did square off in the first round of Lamar Holiday Tournament in December with the Wildcats scoring a 38-20 win. It was the first win of the season for Kit Carson who had dropped their first two games of the season after winning three consecutive state championships. The difference in the first meeting came in the second quarter where Kit Carson went on a 12-0 run. They also outscored the Cardinals 10-2 in the third. Stephanie Framel had 16 points and 11 rebounds in the win. She leads the team in scoring for the season (10.5) and is second in rebounds (6.4). Reyna Isenbart (9.1) is the top rebounder and second in scoring (9.8). McClave was just 5-46 from the field (11 percent) in the loss with Anna Beckett (8) and Katie Roesch (6) combining for 14 of their 20 points. Beckett averages 15.3 points on the year with Maggie Chase adding 9.2 rebounds and 7.9 rebounds.
Briggsdale at Prairie: The Falcons need a win to tie Fleming for the 1A North Central championship and they’re also battling the Wildcats for the top district seed. RPI will likely decide that race as the first three tiebreakers between the clubs won’t do the job. Entering the last two days of the season, Fleming is #3 at .631 with Briggsdale #4 at .628. Fleming has finished their regular season and this game wraps it up for the Falcons. Briggsdale has already beaten Prairie twice this year and by nearly identical scores. They won 66-32 as part of a December tournament and then again 62-33 in the first conference meeting.
Lone Star at Arickaree/Woodlin: Lone Star clinches the YWKC championship with a win. Arickaree/Woodlin is coming off a conference loss to Idalia this week but a win by the Indian-Mustangs creates a three-way for the conference crown. The Longhorns are heavily favored as they have 13 more wins overall on the season. Alivia Weathers (13.1) leads Lone Star on the offensive end including a career best 19 points in a solid win over Longmont Christian two weeks ago. Joslyn King tops Arickaree/Woodlin in points (10.3) and rebounds (6.7).
Colorado Springs School at Simla: The 2A Black Forest championship is on the line as both teams are unbeaten in conference play. The winner also lands the top district seed next week. CSS (16-1) has the better overall record as they’ve won 16 in a row since an opening loss to Ignacio. Simla (14-3) lost to Rye (57-28) last Saturday but bounced back with a 59-11 blowout of Miami-Yoder last night. Both clubs were challenged by likely third place finisher Peyton as the Kodiaks scored a 39-32 win and Simla won 60-49. Sarina Mansour (12.8) and Whitney Richardi (12.2) are basic co-scoring leaders for the Kodiaks with Richardi leading the club in rebounds (7.4). Kaitlyn Rector (13.1) and Taylor Warnecke (12.7) hold down the same scoring roles with the Cubs with Rector also pulling down a team-best 9.5 rebounds.
Evergreen at Green Mountain: Green Mountain has a two-game lead on Evergreen and has already clinched the 4A Jeffco championship. But a win gives the Rams a perfect 12-0 run through the conference slate. Jayda Maves (14) and Riley Shoemaker (12) led the Rams offensively in game one. Those two also connected on a combined seven three’s. Jameson Mott and Hayley Dillon each tallied 11 for Evergreen. The Cougars were just 1-4 from beyond the arc.
Tri Valley chase: Berthoud, Skyline and Holy Family are all tied for the conference lead at 13-2 and all are in action in regular season finales tonight. Berthoud is ranked #5 and will host Skyline; Erie is #6 and goes to Frederick and #7 Holy Family entertains Mead. Of those three opponents, Mead has the best record (11-11) and is the only one with double digit wins on the season. In RPI, Berthoud also has the lead #3 with Erie #4 and Holy Family #8.
Mullen at Grandview: This game doesn’t factor in the Centennial chase but since each club is ranked #1 in their respective class, it has to be on our list. Grandview tops the 5A division but is coming off a loss to Cherry Creek that cost them the outright league championship. Mullen is #1 in Class 4A but will finish third behind the Bruins and Wolves. The Mustangs lost twice to Cherry Creek and also 58-36 to Grandview in the first meeting. The Mustangs struggled against 6-7 center Lauren Betts who finished with 18 points and 17 rebounds.
Thornton at Northglenn: Thornton is heavily favored but they need to get the win to earn a piece of the 5A East Metro championship. The Trojans start the night tied with Vista Peak and Rangeview atop the standings. They’ve won three straight since a key loss to Vista Peak. A win also pushes Thornton to 19-4 on the season which is easily the most in the MaxPreps era (since 2006-07). The previous best in that stretch was last year (13).
Liberty at Doherty / Rampart at Fountain Fort Carson: Doherty and Fountain Fort Carson will finish 1-2 in the 5A CS Metro and these two games will determine the order. Both are 9-2 in league play and they split their regular season battles. Two wins or two losses leave them tied for the title but if they have differing results, the winner grabs the outright league championship. Doherty edged Liberty 41-39 in their first meeting as they outscored the Lancers 13-7 in the fourth. Payton Sterk led the Spartans with 11 points and Aujanae Latimer had seven rebounds. Fountain Fort Carson bounced Rampart 56-28 last month as Carolyn Dail (14) and Torie Bass (13) combined for 27 points and five three-pointers.
Las Animas at Swallows Charter: This is a play-in game to reach the 2A District 6 quarterfinals next week. Las Animas ended up fifth in the Santa Fe Eastern division and Swallows Charter fourth in the West. The winner gets Rocky Ford in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. The Meloneers are 18-1 on the season as they ended the season with a home loss to unbeaten Rye. The teams played just eight days ago with Las Animas scoring a 51-35 win. Alesia Ybarra scored 17 for the Trojans while Allyana Magana and Danica Maes added nine apiece. Swallows Charter picked up nine from Jesse Vallejos and eight from Megan Contreras.
Patriot Quarterfinals: The top three seeds are favored to advance as they meet opponents who are coming off wins from last night. The top seed is University is favored against 9th seeded Resurrection Christian but the Bulldogs could get pushed as they outlasted the Cougars 59-52 in overtime during the regular season. The two seed is Eaton and they’ll host Sterling; a team they beat 56-40 in conference play. Platte Valley is the #3 seed and entertains Liberty Common. The Broncos were 45-30 winners earlier this year. Brush and Estes Park are seeded 4-5 and neither played last night so both are well rested. The two battled through an overtime game a week ago with the Beetdiggers grabbing a 43-41 decision.
Colorado 8 League Tournament: Riverdale Ridge (3A) challenges Skyview (4A) for the league tournament championship. The host Wolverines were the regular season champions and have not dropped a game to a conference opponent over the past two years. Included in that run is a 66-39 win over the Ravens in the regular season this year. Riverdale Ridge finished third in the conference standings but reached the finals by avenging a regular season loss to Weld Central. They lost to the Ravens 47-46 earlier but managed a 58-55 win two nights ago.
