It’s a nice mix of league and non-conference games on the girls’ basketball schedule for Saturday. We run through the top games and indicate how results will impact league races and the post-season layout.
Briggsdale at Shining Mountain: A non-conference game but very important to RPI and post-season bracketing if both teams reach the regional and state tournaments. Shining Mountain (12-1) is ranked #1 in RPI this week with their best win coming against Lone Star earlier this season. Briggsdale (14-1) is #5 in RPI and suffered their first loss of the season last week against Fleming (63-62).
Genoa Hugo at Fleming: Another non-league game that will affect the state tournament pairings if both teams advance that far. Fleming (14-1) is ranked #4 in RPI and shares the North Central lead with Briggsdale. Genoa Hugo (11-3) is #9 in RPI and will head south for regionals this year to battle the likes of South Baca, Springfield and Kit Carson.
Longmont Christian at Lone Star: Lone Star sits #7 in RPI and has just the one loss to Shining Mountain on their resume. They’re on pace to win the YWKC championship. Longmont Christian (8-5) has played a tremendous schedule while competing in the 2A/1A Mile High and they’re #13 in RPI despite being just three games above five hundred.
Wray at Sedgwick County: The Eagles need a road win to help lock down second place in the Lower Platte and the #2 seed in the district tournament. Wray is 2-1 in conference play and one game back of first place Holyoke (5-0). But the Eagles also top Sedgwick County, Merino, Yuma and Wiggins by one game in the race for second. They’ve beaten Yuma and Merino and will be favored against Wiggins so a win today puts them in good position. Sedgwick County has league losses to Holyoke and Yuma and a third loss this afternoon could make it difficult to finish in the top three.
Merino at Yuma: Another game that impacts spots two through four in the Lower Platte as both teams enter with two losses and as mentioned, tied with Sedgwick County and Wiggins in a crowded race for second/third. Merino is struggling a bit with three straight losses to Sedgwick County, Limon and Holyoke. Yuma is also looking to snap a recent slide where they’ve dropped three of four. Two of those losses though are against Nebraska opponents.
Lutheran vs Jefferson Academy: This outcome decides the 3A Metro championship as Lutheran is 8-0 in conference and Jefferson Academy 7-0. Both lead Colorado Academy and Skyview Academy by two games. Lutheran though has been much more dominant as they’ve outscored eight league opponents by 380 points and JA their seven by just 129.
Berthoud at Erie: Postponed from last night, the 4A Tri Valley rivals will try it again tonight and there’s plenty on the line. Erie remained in the title chase by beating Holy Family for the first time in school history four nights ago. The win kept them one back of both Holy Family and Berthoud who now share the lead at 11-1. Berthoud and Holy Family also play next Tuesday so the league title and top three spots could be determined over the next four days. 5A Windsor sits fourth at 9-3 but all other conference teams have at least seven losses.
Denver South at George Washington: Denver South looks to spoil GW’s perfect run through the Denver Prep League. The Patriots are 5-0 and share the league lead with Denver East (5-0). South though has plenty to play for as they’re battling Thomas Jefferson for third place and both teams are just one game back at 4-1. Regardless of outcome from today, the race is far from over as GW still has games with Thomas Jefferson and Denver East left on the schedule.
Durango at Montrose: It’s a quick turnaround for these two clubs as they also battled last Saturday. Montrose won that game 38-30 but then fell short against Fruita Monument on Tuesday night. The results leave all three teams with one league and sharing the Southwestern league lead. Durango is coming off a 45-33 win at Grand Junction Central on Friday. Both clubs still have a game remaining with Fruita Monument as well.
