4A Second Round Preview: Tracy Hill Quadrant

<p dir="ltr">Mead's first-year coach JR Sagner assessed the state of his program last week following a lopsided loss to Holy Family. “Taking steps in the right direction” he said, but “it's never as fast as anybody likes.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Then the season flipped, “everyone is 0-0 in the postseason” he noted, and the Mavericks were off and running.</p> <p dir="ltr">Hosting the first round of Colorado's Class 4A bracket a year after winning just six games, they beat Northfield by 34 for their first playoff win in five years. Next, they'll face No. 6 Thompson Valley in a rematch of a game they let slip away earlier in the season.</p> <p dir="ltr">So, with the 32 teams set in 4A, we'll take a look at that and the other second-round games in the Tracy Hill region.</p> <p dir="ltr"></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>No. 3 Green Mountain (21-2) vs. No. 30 Pueblo County (12-12)</strong></p> [caption id="attachment_132531" align="alignright" width="300"] Mackenzie Cain[/caption] <p dir="ltr">No player for Green Mountain averages double figures in points  — instead, the Rams rely on one of the most widespread attacks in the tournament. In 23 games, <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/avery-oaster/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/avery-oaster/">Avery Oaster</a></a></strong> has scored 216 points, <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/jayda-maves/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/jayda-maves/">Jayda Maves</a></a></strong> 215 and <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/courtney-hank/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/courtney-hank/">Courtney Hank</a></a></strong> 210. They, among others, led Green Mountain to an undefeated run in the 4A Jeffco League, where they outscored opponents by 313 points over 12 games. Pueblo County, meanwhile, reached .500 on the year after <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/erin-mauro/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/erin-mauro/">Erin Mauro</a></a></strong> and <strong>Rose Weimer</strong> propelled the Hornets to a big fourth quarter as part of a 36-31 win over Standley Lake in the opening round. They'll look to hand the Rams their first home loss of the season Friday, and in doing so, improve their shaky 2-6 road record.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>No. 14 Durango (14-9) vs. No. 19 Skyview (20-4)</strong></p> [caption id="attachment_127176" align="alignright" width="300"] <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/thalia-guardiola/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/thalia-guardiola/">Thalia Guardiola</a></a>[/caption] <p dir="ltr">Durango freshman<strong> Mason Rowland</strong>'s production has grown as the season progressed. After not scoring in double figures until the third week of January, Rowland had five double-digit outings over her last 10 games of the regular season. In her final game before the postseason, she scored a career-best 17 points on 58 percent shooting in a win over Grand Junction Central. She currently leads the team in points (7.7) and rebounds (4.7). But in saying all that, the Demons' success is probably best attributed to their defense, which held teams under 40 points in 18 of their 23 games. Similarly, their opponent, Skyview, had eight games in which it held teams to 16 or fewer points. The Wolverines come into Friday on an 11-game winning streak after surviving their first round against No. 46 Coronado. Junior <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/thalia-guardiola/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/thalia-guardiola/">Thalia Guardiola</a></a></strong> (11.8 PPG and 3.6 assists per game) is a slick guard with nice court vision for the 19 seed. <strong>Casandra Olivas</strong> (8.3 PPG, 7.8 RPG) makes her impact known on both ends of the floor.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>No. 6 Thompson Valley (22-1) vs. No. 27 Mead (12-12)</strong></p> [caption id="attachment_121668" align="alignright" width="300"] <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/charlee-durtsche/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/charlee-durtsche/">Charlee Durtsche</a></a>[/caption] <p dir="ltr"><strong>Jackie Stephenson</strong> (10.2 PPG) scored 20 points in Mead's blowout win over Northfield Tuesday. She and fellow-sophomore <strong>Maddox Boston</strong> (10.0 PPG) led the Mavs to a playoff win for the first time since 2015. Now, they look to knock off Thompson Valley after getting oh-so close two months ago. In that first meeting of the season in late December, the Mavs led after three quarters before the Eagles rallied for a 60-54 win. Senior <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/sydney-durtsche/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/sydney-durtsche/">Sydnee Durtsche</a></a></strong> (13.6 PPG) had a career-high 23 points that game on 70 percent shooting. Thompson Valley comes into the postseason on a 21 game-winning streak. As winners of the 4A Northern League, its lone loss was to Vista PEAK Prep in its second game of the year.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>No. 11 Sierra (18-4) vs. No. 43 Rifle (10-14)</strong></p> [caption id="attachment_99170" align="alignright" width="279"] D'Nae Wilson[/caption] <p dir="ltr">Sierra has a pair of standout guards in <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/dnae-wilson/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/dnae-wilson/">D'nae Wilson</a></a></strong> (19.6 PPG) and <strong>Azaria Lacour</strong> (14.8), who can run, dish, rebound, dazzle. The Denver Post listed Wilson as one of the 20 high school girls basketball players to watch coming into the season. Stallions coach Joseph Williams told the Colorado Springs Gazette that “there's not too many teams that can guard both (of them), so they pick their poison." Wilson has scored 20-plus points 10 times this season as Sierra won a split of the 4A Colorado Springs Metro League with No. 16 Canon City. Lacour added an average of 6.4 rebounds and nearly five steals a game. Rifle, meanwhile, pulled off the biggest upset of the first round with a 41-40 win over No. 22 Weld Central and its top-flight scorer <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/kaydee-sims/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/kaydee-sims/">Kaydee Sims</a></a> </strong>(who went for 28 points in the loss) Wednesday afternoon. The Bears, led by <strong>Jamie Caron </strong>(10.1 PPG) and <strong>Mackenzie Elizardo </strong>(7.0), had just nine wins coming into the postseason.</p> &nbsp;