The state brackets are set in Colorado’s 5A and 4A fields with respective top seeds in Valor Christian and Sand Creek. In this preview, we’ll take a look at the Tracy Hill region in Class 4A — that’s bottom right on your computer screens.
Green Mountain leads the quadrant as the third seed followed by No. 6 Thompson Valley, No. 11 Sierra and No. 14 Durango. Those four teams also earned one of the tournament’s 16 first-round byes and their next opponent will be decided following Tuesday and Wednesday's slate of games.
Here’s a look at the region’s first-round games.
<strong>No. 30 Pueblo County (11-12, 4-6 South Central) vs. No. 35 Standley Lake (9-14, 4-8 Jeffco)</strong>
[caption id="attachment_132525" align="alignright" width="300"] <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/erin-mauro/">Erin Mauro</a>[/caption]
<strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/erin-mauro/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/erin-mauro/">Erin Mauro</a></a></strong>, in her fourth year on varsity for Pueblo County, leads the team with 10.5 ppg and 6.7 rpg. The Hornets finished fourth in the 4A South Central League and 11-12 overall — and yet something that may be keen to keep an eye on is the fact they won the last six games when Mauro scored in double figures. <strong>Hayle Herrera</strong> (8 ppg) and <strong>Rose Weimer</strong> (7.9) make up most of the other offensive production for Pueblo County, which averaged 36.5 ppg. Standley Lake, meanwhile, helped its seeding with back-to-back wins following a four-game losing streak. <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/delaney-heutson/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/delaney-heutson/">Delaney Huetson</a></a></strong> (9.6 ppg) and <strong>Lexi Stout</strong> (9.1) lead the Gators in scoring.
<strong>No. 19 Skyview (19-4, 7-0 Colorado 8) vs. No. 46 Coronado (7-16, 6-6 Colorado Springs Metro)</strong>
[caption id="attachment_127175" align="alignright" width="300"] <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/thalia-guardiola/">Thalia Guardiola</a>[/caption]
Skyview, winners of the 4A/3A Colorado 8 League, comes into the tournament red-hot with 10 straight wins on a season where it nearly doubled its opponents in scoring (1104-610). Consider this: The team;s leading scorer, <strong>Thalia Gaurdiola</strong> (11.8 ppg), had six games of scoring 16 or more points. The Wolverines had <em>eight</em> games in which they held opponents to 16 or fewer points. Eek. Coronado, meanwhile, snuck into 48-team field thanks to an impressive three-game winning streak to close the season — a run that included a three-point win over 5A No. 10 Fountain-Fort Carson. <strong>Fatinah Muhammed</strong> is sound defensively and leads the team with 9.4 ppg. <strong>Sanaya Jones</strong> is a monster on the boards averaging 11 per game.
<strong>No. 27 Mead (11-12, 7-9 Tri-Valley) vs. No. 38 Northfield (12-11, 4-5 Denver Prep)</strong>
[caption id="attachment_136817" align="alignright" width="300"] Maddox Boston[/caption]
Mead finished fifth in the 5A/4A Tri-Valley League, a conference that includes 4A top-10 teams in Holy Family, Berthoud and Erie. The Mavericks have just one senior on their varsity roster in Maddie Muntz, while sophomores <strong>Maddox Boston</strong> (10.2 ppg) and<strong> Jacklyn Stephenson</strong> (9.7 ppg) led the team in scoring. Said first-year coach JR Sagner last week: “We’re young, I’m brand new to them, so there was a lot of changes. But I think they’re starting to buy into those changes. We’re taking steps in the right direction.” Northfield, meanwhile, is also led by a pair of sophomores in <strong>Giavonna Meeks</strong> (12.4 ppg and 10.7 rpg) and <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/malia-heien/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/malia-heien/">Malia Heien</a></a></strong> (12.2 and 10.9), both of whom average a double-double. The Nighthawks finished seventh in the 11-team 5A/4A Denver Prep League and went 12-11.
<strong>No. 22 Weld Central (17-6, 6-1 Colorado 8) vs. No. 43 Rifle (9-14, 7-5 Western Slope)</strong>
Weld Central’s <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/kaydee-sims/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/kaydee-sims/">Kaydee Sims</a></a></strong> ranks in the top 10 in state scoring with 20.1 ppg. In consecutive games earlier in the month she outscored the opponent alone with 30 points in a 71-29 win over Fort Lupton and 31 points in a 74-29 win over Alameda. The junior captain, who also averages 8.6 boards per game, has scored over 20 or more points in a game 12 times this season. She had 35 points on 50 percent shooting six days ago in a loss to Riverdale Ridge. So … Rifle may need an uptick in its offensive production to keep up after averaging just 33.2 ppg. Sophomore guard <strong>Jamie Caron</strong> has proven to be an up-and-coming scorer at 10.1 ppg. Maybe most impressive among her season stats is her knack at reaching the line. She hit 72 of her 112 free throw attempts this season.
