5A Second Round Preview: Rhonda Blanford-Green Quadrant
Round one is now complete in the Class 5A and 4A girls basketball brackets, leaving 32 teams in the field still looking for the state title. We continue our preview coverage by taking a look at the second round matchups…
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Continue ReadingRound one is now complete in the Class 5A and 4A girls basketball brackets, leaving 32 teams in the field still looking for the state title. We continue our preview coverage by taking a look at the second round matchups in the Class 5A Rhonda Blanford-Green quadrant.
No. 4 Grandview (20-3, 13-1 Centennial) vs. No. 36 Arvada West (14-10, 3-5 Jeffco)
Grandview sits as the top seeded team in this portion of the bracket with 6-foot-7 sophomore Lauren Betts leading the charge. She averages a double-double with 17.3 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. As a team, the Wolves average 65.4 points per game, which is the fourth most in Class 5A. Junior Addison O’Grady is another big help in the scoring department with 11.4 points per game and she’s second on the team in rebounding as well with 6.5 a night. Arvada West comes in with some momentum after going on the road to upset No. 29 Loveland Tuesday in a 48-38 victory. The Wildcats’ 5-foot-11 junior forward Madison Manson had a career-high 19 points and they’ll need her to stand tall once again with Betts matching up down low. The young ‘Cats squad will also look for sophomore forward Amanda Neff to get involved with her team-high 8.8 points per game. Look for a battle down low in this one between the Wolves standouts and the Wildcats’ up and comers.
Other Grandview players to watch: Marya Hudgins, Tomia Johnson, Landri Hudson.
Other Arvada West players to watch: Calaiya Vickles, Payton Reed, Jasmyn Williams.
No. 13 ThunderRidge (17-6, 8-2 Continental) vs. No. 20 Arapahoe (14-10, 8-6 Centennial)
Get ready for some shooting from ThunderRidge senior guard Heidi Haze and her 54 made 3-pointers on the season, the seventh most in Class 5A. Overall, Haze averages 12.6 points on a Grizzlies team that averages 45.6 as a unit. The Grizzlies will look to play tough defense and slow the pace down and look for some open shots from Haze, as well as get boards from senior forward Lindsey Anhalt as she averages 7 a game and also puts up 7.8 points a game on offense. Arapahoe blew past Douglas County in the first round 61-30 behind 14 points from 6-foot-2 sophomore Sam Crispe and 13 from senior guard Kali March. Those two have been the leading scorers this season for the Warriors as they will try to counter the Haze-Anhalt duo from ThunderRidge. Being a 13 vs. 20 matchup, look for this one to come down to the wire and potentially be decided by who has the ball last.
Other ThunderRidge players to watch: Sarah Reiner, Mia Thenell, Kristina Keefe.
Other Arapahoe players to watch: Sam Shaw, Katy Edwards, Kathleen Wortman.
No. 5 Fruita Monument (21-2, 7-1 Southwestern) vs. No. 37 Brighton (13-11, 6-4 East Metro)
Brighton grabbed its first state playoff win since 2014 and its reward is a trip over the mountains to take on Fruita Monument. Leading the Wildcats this season has been 6-foot center Callie Allen and her team-high 14.6 points per game and 6 rebounds a night. Senior guard Lila Dere isn’t too far behind in scoring with 13.3 a night while senior point guard Bailey Rigsby is dealing out 4.3 assists a game. In other words, Fruita is loaded with some solid seniors. Meanwhile the Bulldogs have led by some underclassmen all season until senior Mai Le Waters went off for 19 points on four made 3-pointers to help down Mountain Range in the first round Tuesday. Junior Nikki Antonopoulos, the Bulldogs leading scorer with 11.3 points per game, chipped in 13 and will look to be a impact for a potential second round upset on the road once more. Her 59 made 3-pointers on the season is the fourth most in Class 5A.
Other Fruita players to watch: Kylie Wells, Kloe Bates.
Other Brighton players to watch: Tori Hendricks, Amanda Byrnes, Payton Gagon.
No. 12 Denver East (16-7, 7-2 Denver Prep) vs. No. 21 Doherty (16-8, 10-2 CS Metro)
Jordyn ConnerJunior guard Jordynn Conner has been the cornerstone for the Angels this season with 12.7 points per game and 9.5 boards, through the 15 games entered for her on MaxPreps. She’s also picked up 2.9 steals and 2.1 assists per game for an Angels team that appears to get after it on defense with nearly 16 swipes a night. Freshman guard Navaeh Golden has also been solid on offense with 10.6 a game, second on the Angels’ squad. Doherty is coming off a 47-29 victory over Legend on Tuesday in the first round in which they got 13 points from junior guard Taryn Lindsey, who averages 13.1 a game. Lindsey does the scoring and senior forward Aujanae Latimer does the rebounding with 9.1 a game to go along with 6 points a night. Both teams are nearly even across the board in all the main statistical categories, so prepare for a tight one in the Angels’ home gym.
Other Denver East players to watch: Lilly Cleveland, Rhae Schulz, Stella Rollo.
Other Doherty players to watch: Payton Sterk, Taylor Corsi, Makenzie Noll.