Class 4A Great Eight: Game-by-Game Preview

The calendar has flipped to March and the Class 4A state tournament has dwindled down to the eight best in the state. Here is a look at each of the four games that will decide who gets a trip to play at the Denver Coliseum next weekend in the Final Four. Top teams remaining based on seed: No. 2 Pueblo West, No. 3 Green Mountain, No. 4 Berthoud, No. 5 Erie, No. 7 Holy Family, No. 9 Mullen, No. 11 Sierra and No. 16 Canon City.   John Mraule quadrant: No. 16 Canon City (20-4, 14-1 CS Metro) at No. 9 Mullen (18-7, 10-4 Centennial) [caption id="attachment_141991" align="alignright" width="300"] [player_tooltip player_id="116776" first="Alexa" last="Dominguez"][/caption]Canon City upset the No. 1-seeded team in the Sweet 16, and now they’ll have to unseat the team that most people viewed as the true No. 1 team in the tournament in Mullen. The Mustangs spent the entire season atop the CHSAAnow.com coaches/media poll and for good reason as they went 16-7 with a regular season schedule that featured all 5A schools/out-of-state schools except a 55-21 blowout of Evergreen. Mullen’s two playoff games this year have looked similar to the game with Evergreen as seen by an 86-42 win in the second round over Cheyenne Mountain and a 65-40 victory at Montrose in the Sweet 16. Junior [player_tooltip player_id="95130" first="Megan" last="Pohs"] has put the offense on her back by scoring 24 points in both postseason games. Junior [player_tooltip player_id="116776" first="Alexa" last="Dominguez"] found her offensive rhythm last round against the Indians with 13 points while 6-foot-3 sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="95170" first="Imani" last="Perez"] continues to be a terror on the glass. Canon City is in the right mindset for an upset though, as proven by last round where they knocked off No. 1 Sand Creek 69-55. Senior standout [player_tooltip player_id="115814" first="Jerika" last="Moore"] was relatively quiet on offense for her standards while her bigs like Emily Till went to work down low on the glass and on offense. If the Tigers can have an offensive performance like normal from Moore, plus a group effort to contain Perez down low, Canon City could find itself dancing to Denver. Other Canon City players to watch: Kate Tedquist, Mady Ley, Jordyn Martinez. Other Mullen players to watch: [player_tooltip player_id="95172" first="Gracie" last="Gallegos"], [player_tooltip player_id="116759" first="Elaina" last="Martinez"], [player_tooltip player_id="116788" first="Abby" last="Webster"].   Tricia Bader-Binford quadrant: No. 7 Holy Family (19-6, 14-2 Tri-Valley) at No. 2 Pueblo West (24-1, 10-0 South-Central) It’s easy to get lost in what [player_tooltip player_id="95017" first="Hannah" last="Simental"] does offensively for Pueblo West, but what makes the Cyclones tough has been their defense. They held George Washington to under double digits points in three of four quarters during the Cyclones’ 52-37 victory in the Sweet 16, meanwhile Simental followed up her 30-point performance in the second round with 22 more against the Patriots. [player_tooltip player_id="145398" first="Marissa" last="Leyva"] came up big off the bench for a deep Cyclones team that features solid two-way players all over the court in Leyva, [player_tooltip player_id="95180" first="Gabby" last="Louther"], [player_tooltip player_id="145399" first="Shayla" last="Padilla"], [player_tooltip player_id="115772" first="Maya" last="Sanchez"] and the list goes on. But staying with defense, the best display of it all season for Pueblo West might have come on Dec. 21 when it beat Holy Family 51-29. No one from the Tigers reached double digits in points while Simental went for 16. Holy Family was led by junior [player_tooltip player_id="145397" first="Tyler" last="Whitlock"] (8 points) and junior [player_tooltip player_id="116779" first="Alyssa" last="Wells"] (9 points), but simply couldn’t figure out a way around the Cyclones defense. Since the lost though, the Tigers have gone 17-2, including two dominate wins in the playoffs against Northride (62-26) and Air Academy (42-27). The Tigers have displayed tough defense themselves throughout the 19-game stretch, meaning this game this time around is setting up to be a closer and could become a battle of who gets the most possessions. Other Holy Family players to watch: [player_tooltip player_id="116794" first="Daniella" last="Hren"], Makenna Bertsch, [player_tooltip player_id="116786" first="Dylan" last="Sanders"]. Other Pueblo West players to watch: Shae Gallery, Kate Gallery, [player_tooltip player_id="115801" first="Taylor" last="Dabovich"]   Tracy Hill quadrant: No. 11 Sierra (20-4, 14-1 CS Metro) at No. 3 Green Mountain (23-2, 12-0 Jeffco) Green Mountain junior [player_tooltip player_id="95134" first="Courtney" last="Hank"] proved her clutch ability in the Sweet 16 when she scored 10 of her 23 points in the fourth quarter against Durango to help the Rams move into the Great 8 with a 58-45 win. The Rams only led by three going into the fourth. Hank, the team’s leading scorer (9.9 per game) and rebounder (6.9 per game), will have her hands full in the Great 8 with Sierra’s Azaria Lacour and Jaide Howell who were a big part of the Stallions’ 44-40 upset of Thompson Valley in the Sweet 16. Lacour had 11 rebounds to go with her 6 points while Howell had a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards. And, oh yea, the Rams will have to find a way to slow down [player_tooltip player_id="115759" first="D’nae" last="Wilson"], a Sierra senior guard who had games of 22 and 16 points in the Stallions first two games of the tournament. Green Mountain has some weapons around Hank as well, one being sophomore forward [player_tooltip player_id="117693" first="Avery" last="Oaster"]. She had 15 points in the Rams’ second round win over Pueblo County, but only had 4 against Durango. Look for to try and rekindle that fire from round two and give Hank some help down low. Other Sierra players to watch: Ariana Reyes. Annalisa Mileto, Kaylie Mileto. Other Green Mountain players to watch: [player_tooltip player_id="95215" first="Jayda" last="Maves"], Maddie Phillips, Shea Murphy.   Jenny Coalson quadrant: No. 5 Erie (23-2, 14-2 Tri-Valley) at No. 4 Berthoud (23-2, 14-2 Tri-Valley) Three of the Great 8 squads all hail from the Tri-Valley league and two of them will pitted against each other in Erie vs. Berthoud. The two split the season series with each side winning at home, which is a good sign for the No. 4 Spartans. In the Spartans’ 67-58 win on Jan. 14, junior [player_tooltip player_id="95140" first="Breanna" last="Fowler"] went off for 24 points while Ally Padilla and [player_tooltip player_id="95030" first="Emily" last="Cavey"] pitched in 13 and 10, respectively. In the 59-48 loss on Feb. 8, Cavey went for 28 points, but no other Spartan reached double digits. Erie also rebounded Berthoud 31-22 in the Tigers win after losing the board battle 39-24 in the first matchup. The Tigers had sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="117710" first="Grace" last="Moyers"] go off for 26 points in the loss while the scoring was more spreadout in the win with Moyers chipping 15 while junior [player_tooltip player_id="95135" first="Genevieve" last="Gudino"] led the way with 18 points and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="95176" first="Deb" last="Altshuler"] had 12. Basically, look for both sides to get back to playing some team basketball and spreading the ball around on offense. And once the ball is the air, rebounds could become and important piece in deciding who gets the spot in the Final Four. Other Erie players to watch: [player_tooltip player_id="116819" first="Anna" last="Hefner"], Alyssa Barnett, [player_tooltip player_id="117722" first="Edie" last="Morrow"]. Other Berthoud players to watch: [player_tooltip player_id="115821" first="Celsey" last="Selland"], Maddie, Barcewski, Martha Rennaker.