When we sorted through the girls’ basketball schedule for Tuesday, we found seven very important contests. Leading the list are two important games in the 4A Tri Valley as the top four teams face off and there’s also a likely conference title game in Class 1A. Two important non-league games are also found in the Southwest.
Photo is provided by Vibrant Valley Photography in Alamosa.
Flatirons Academy at Shining Mountain: The league lead and likely 1A 5280 championship goes to the winner of this one. Both teams are unbeaten in league play and all other clubs have at least two conference losses. Shining Mountain had won five straight before a well-played 53-46 loss to #2 Briggsdale last week. It was a one-point game through three quarters. Frances Hilliard scored 20 and Lola Conaway 19 in the loss. Flatirons has five losses but none have been against 1A opponents. They’ve won six in-a-row including a nice 53-25 win over Belleview Christian in 5280 action. Kenlee Durrill topped all scorers with 20 and Byrn Durrill had 15.
Sangre De Cristo at Sanford: A very good matchup in the San Luis Valley as both teams are very good and both hope to have deep playoff runs. Both teams have played very well against teams in their division but struggled against opponents in other classifications. Both losses for Sangre De Cristo (11-2) are against 2A ranked opponents in Rocky Ford and Del Norte. They’re 3-2 overall against 2A teams. Four of the five losses for Sanford (9-5) are against 3A clubs currently ranked in the top 10. Their lone 2A setback is against Del Norte (48-45) last week. Kylee Christensen (14.9) leads a balanced Sangre De Cristo attack but Ashley Mortensen, Lexi Metz, Tori Ford, Makenzie Rogers and Avery Palmgren all average between five and eight points a game. Sanford has four players averaging between five and nine a game; a group led by Mackenzie Peterson (9.5). Cheyenne Caldon (7.8), Asia Caldon (7.5) and Harmony Peterson (5.2) are next in line.
Del Norte at Ignacio: It’s the second non-conference meeting of the season for two clubs poised to win their league championship. Ignacio has virtually wrapped up the 2A/1A San Juan championship while Del Norte, based on their first win over Sanford, is favored to land the 2A Southern Peaks crown. The Tigers are #6 in RPI with Ignacio #13. Del Norte won the first matchup 53-50 with the free throw line serving as a huge advantage. They were 23 of 35 from the line compared to 5-5 for Ignacio. Kendra Parra was 8-10 on FT’s and ended up with 18 points while Kaeci Madrid hit 10-15 to finish with 16 points. Gabby Jones also totaled 16 points a game high nine rebounds. Makayla Howell paced Ignacio with 12; Ebonee Gomez had nine and Jayden Brunson and Charlize Valdez both finished with eight. Larissa Gallegos grabbed six rebounds.
Soroco at Hotchkiss: Postponed from last week, this matchup gets a very important week in the 2A/1A Western Slope underway. Each club is 6-1 in conference and sit tied for second one game back of unbeaten Meeker (8-0). Both teams also meet Meeker this weekend so the top three spots and conference champion should be determined. Hotchkiss was upset by Rangely (39-35) on February 1st but has won their last two including a nice 71-41 win over North Park on Saturday. They led 22-5 after one quarter and 43-10 at halftime so they had a chance to rest the first team for the big week ahead. 10 players scored with Elise Vazquez leading the group with 17. Shay Glaser added 11. The defense also forced 35 turnovers as Vazquez recorded five teals and Ariana Venjohn three. Soroco’s league loss came early to 1A DeBeque (56-49) but they won four in-a-row. They posted a solid 38-32 win over Rangely to close January and then rolled Paonia on the road last week (43-25). Kaydence Bruner and Makinley Parker combined for 21 points against Rangely and 22 against Paonia.
Falcon at Air Academy: Falcon (6-2) and Air Academy (5-3) are battling for second behind Sand Creek (9-0) in the 4A Pikes Peak. The Falcons have the advantage in the league race thanks to their 50-37 win over the Kadets earlier this year. Second and fourth quarter was the difference as the Falcons won those two periods by a combined 36-19 score. Hannah Burg and Billie Fiore each netted 15 points for the winners and Kylee Blacksten matched that number for Air Academy. Brianna Sealy was next with 14. Falcon also won the battle at the foul line as they were 16-20 compared to 0-2 for Air Academy. The Falcons also won the rebound battle 25-16.
Holy Family at Berthoud/Windsor at Erie: The top four clubs in the 4A Tri Valley collide and the race is very tight. Holy Family (11-1) and leads Berthoud (11-2) and Erie (10-2) with Windsor two games back in fourth (10-3). Each club has also at least two other conference games remaining including another top four battle on Thursday between Holy Family & Windsor. Holy Family remains in the best position as a win keeps them alone in first but wins by Erie and Berthoud will leave all three teams sharing the top spot. Holy Family edged Berthoud 49-44 in their first meeting. Four players reached double figures with Dylan Sanders (14) leading the way. Tyler Whitlock scored 11 and Alyssa Wells and Cecilia Aanerud 10 apiece. The Tigers shot 52 percent from the field compared to 37 for the Spartans. Berthoud won the rebound margin 29-24 but committed seven more turnovers (27-20). Berthoud picked up 13 from Breanna Fowler. Erie is playing the best of any team right now as they moved past Holy Family and Berthoud last week. They also outscored Windsor 75-68 in the first conference game totaling at least 20 points in both the second and third quarters. Grace Moyers drilled eight three-pointers on her way to a game 28 points and Genevieve Gudino added 18. Jolie Jiricek led Windsor with 15; Mykaela Moore had 14 and Payton Kramer 10.
