Not nearly as deep a schedule in girls basketball for Tuesday when compared to the boys division. But there are five games scheduled that will impact the top of several conferences and we break down the details.
Photo by Lance Wendt
3A PATRIOT: One of the better leagues in any division, the conference has three members ranked in the top four this week. One of them is Platte Valley as the defending state champions head to Brush for a conference game. The Broncos opened defense of their league title from last year by downing Liberty Common 63-22 last week. It was their 14th consecutive conference win and kept them tied with #2 Eaton and #4 University atop the standings. The Reds and Bulldogs are both 2-0. Brush (1-1) also has a league win over Liberty Common as they topped the Eagles 56-25 just a few days after playing well in a 14-point loss to University.
3A METRO: Think the consensus is that Lutheran will run through the league schedule without a loss and win another conference championship. But the game between Prospect Ridge and St Mary’s Academy tonight could easily impact second place by years end. Prospect has opened with league victories over Faith Christian and Stargate so they begin the week sharing first place with Lutheran, Skyview Academy and Jefferson Academy. The Miners also meet Skyview Academy on Thursday so it’s a key three-day stretch for their hopes of earning a top two league league finish. St Mary’s Academy also has those thoughts as they’re 1-1 in league play and 6-3 overall.
4A SOUTHWEST: Five teams are in the conference and four of them could challenge for the championship as Montrose, Fruita Monument, Durango and Grand Junction Central all enter league play with winning records overall. The fun starts on Tuesday as Fruita Monument meets Montrose in their league opener. The Indians are 8-5 with the Wildcats checking in at 11-2. Durango is 11-3 and joins the schedule against Grand Junction Central and Fruita Monument this week. Central (10-1) is ranked 10th in 4A and is probably the favorite at this point.
4A DPL: George Washington goes to Kennedy and the winner could end up as the top 4A team in a mixed conference that also includes team from 5A and 3A. Kennedy is off to a 9-2 start including conference wins over Lincoln and Denver West, but they’ve not played the same level of schedule as George Washington (9-1). The Patriots have been in the 4A Top 10 all season and one of their wins is against Fort Collins (46-41). Kennedy fell short to the Lambkins (60-27) back in December.
5A NON-LEAGUE: Rangeview (9-2) jumped back on the radar last week by beating Chaparral by 19 points. We thought that win might be enough to get the Raiders back in the top 10 this week but that did not happen. Now they look to topple the defending state champions as they host Valor Christian tonight. The Eagles (9-3) suffered their lone in-state loss to #2 Grandview on January 8th but responded with quality wins over Regis (78-68) and Mullen (62-51) last week.
