It’s a very good Saturday schedule for girls’ basketball and we look at the top games. Important league games are found between Durango-Fruita Monument and Alamosa-Centauri but the bulk of the schedule involves attractive non-league pairings.
Photo is by Dwight Siverson.
Elbert at Shining Mountain: A good non-league pairing of two teams from conferences that receive little attention during the season. Elbert shares the 1A Black Forest lead with Kiowa and will face the Indians next week. Shining Mountain has been a top 10 club much of the season but a loss to Flatirons Academy likely leaves them second in the 1A 5280. The Lions also played well in a loss to highly ranked Briggsdale. RPI wise, Shining Mountain is #4 with Elbert at #11.
Genoa Hugo at Kit Carson: This is a top 10 non-conference matchup that could serve as a preview of an upcoming regional tournament battle. Genoa Hugo will battle Elbert for the District 7 championship while Kit Carson is the top seed for District 2. Both districts combine with District 3 to make up the Southeast regional in a couple of weeks. Kit Carson is #8 in RPI with Genoa Hugo two spots back at #10. Stephanie Framel (10.4) and Reyna Isenbart (8.3) pace the Wildcats offense and they also sit 1-2 in rebounds; collecting almost 15 per game combined. Together they’ve helped the Wildcats win 11 of 12 games since a tough 1-3 start. They held off Idalia 56-48 on Friday. Genoa Hugo has won eight of nine with a lone loss to #1 Fleming last Saturday (56-42). They easily moved past Deer Trail 48-17 last night. Ryely Smart paces the Pirates with 13.4 points and 8.7 rebounds and Brylee Miller is second in both categories at 8.9 and 5.8.
South Baca at Del Norte: Another high-quality non-league game that will draw plenty of attention. Del Norte sits #7 in Class 2A RPI and shares the Southern Peaks lead with Sanford. South Baca is #5 in Class 1A RPI and will battle Springfield for the Ark Valley crown next Thursday. With both clubs coming off state tournament trips last year, they each have plenty of experience in big games. The matchup also features two of the best guards statewide as Kendra Parra tops Del Norte with 21 points a game and Delaney Eskew directs the South Baca attack with 15 a night. Both also lead their team in assists with over five per game.
Hotchkiss at Plateau Valley/DeBeque at Hayden: Meeker (10-0) clinched the 2A Western Slope title by beating Hotchkiss on Friday and now these two games will help sort out which teams will end up second and third. Hotchkiss is alone in second and lead the other three by one game in the league standings. A win clinches second place as they’ve already beaten DeBeque and Hayden. A loss though drops them into a three-way tie with Plateau Valley and the DeBeque-Hayden winner.
Cedaredge at Grand Valley / Moffat County at Roaring Fork: Another crowded race out west is found in Class 3A where these teams are jockeying for spots two through five. Delta (6-0) leads the division and Cedaredge took over second place by beating Roaring Fork on Friday night. The Bruins lead Grand Valley, Moffat County and the Rams now by one game. The Bruins of course stay in second with another win today. If that happens, then the Moffat County-Roaring Fork winner moves into third. A Grand Valley win creates a three-way tie for second with Cedaredge and the Moffat County-Roaring Fork winner.
Rye at Simla: The Thunderbolts are 17-0 on the season but sit just 12th in RPI as their opponents have a winning percentage of just 38 percent. Simla enters the game 13-2 overall and #8 in RPI so they represent the best opponent for Rye this season. The game will also prep Rye for their huge showdown with Rocky Ford for the 2A Santa Fe crown next week. Simla also has a league title bout next week as they go up against Colorado Springs School in the Black Forest. Twins Sophie (14.6) and Sydney Adamson (10.0) average a combined 25 points a game for Rye. They’re joined by Jolee Ortiz (13.5) as double figure scorers offensively. The Thunderbolts have hit on 68 three-pointers this year including a team high 24 from Ortiz. Simla will have a size advantage so they may try to look inside for Kaitlyn Rector who averages 13 points and 10 rebounds. Taylor Warnecke tops Simla in scoring (13.3) overall.
Alamosa at Centauri: Second place in the rugged 3A Intermountain goes to the winner as both teams enter the contest with two league losses. Fatigue could become an issue late as Alamosa went to Pagosa Springs and Centauri ventured to Cortez on Friday night. Both teams collected road wins however including a nice 33-29 decision for Alamosa over Pagosa Springs. It was the first conference loss for the Pirates but they remain one game up on both the Moose and Falcons. Centauri had an easier time as they blitzed Montezuma Cortez 64-40. Centauri edged Alamosa 44-40 in the first meeting and the difference was the third quarter where the Falcons outscored the Moose 9-5. Each team scored 35 points over the other three periods. Mia Garcia (15), Courtney Hamilton (12) and Brenna McDaniel (10) all reached double figures for Centauri. Alamosa earned 15 from Lilly Lavier and 11 from Terese Chavez.
Lewis Palmer at Falcon: Sand Creek (11-0) is running away with the 4A Pikes Peak race but these two clubs are battling for the runner-up spot. Falcon (7-3) is tied with Air Academy in second with Lewis Palmer (7-4) just a game back in fourth. The Falcons rallied from eight points down in the first quarter to win the first meeting 50-46. Trinity Grant and Hannah Burg each scored 14 to pace Falcon. Kayla Harkema chipped in 11. Griffin Greenwood (13) and Mia O’Neal (11) topped Lewis Palmer.
Durango at Fruita Monument: Both clubs remain very much alive for the Southwestern championship as Fruita Monument shares first with Montrose (both 5-1) and Durango (4-2) one game off the pace. Should Fruita get this win, their trip to Montrose on Tuesday will determine the championship. Durango won’t go easily as they have confidence based on their 41-26 home win over the Wildcats last month. In that win, the Demons defense held Fruita to just 16 percent shooting from the field (7-43) including 0-14 from the arc. Offensively, Maddy McManus (12) and Mason Rowland (10) combined for 22 points. Fruita picked up 14 from Callie Allen but her teammates combined for just 12.
