Top Performances from Class 5A’s Second Round
The field for the Sweet 16 is now set after all round of 32 games were played Friday night. Here is a look at who stood out in the second round of the Class 5A state tournament and who’s moving…
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Continue ReadingThe field for the Sweet 16 is now set after all round of 32 games were played Friday night.
Here is a look at who stood out in the second round of the Class 5A state tournament and who’s moving on to the next week of action.
[player_tooltip player_id="95125" first="Avery" last="Vansickle"]
Avery VanSickle Avery VanSickle 5'9" | SG Regis Jesuit | 2021 State #71 Nation CO joins the 1,000-point club
Vansickle entered Friday’s game against Liberty with 990 career points and it didn’t take the 5-foot-9 shooting guard, who is averaging 16.8 points this season, long to get the 10 she needed to check off a huge career milestone.
Vansickle has now scored 1,000 points in her career, and will look to continue the stellar junior season she has put together while the Raiders chase a state championship over the next couple of weeks. Regis Jesuit stifled Liberty is Friday’s 88-24 win and the Rangers’ playoff run will continue with a home game against Broomfield on Tuesday.
[player_tooltip player_id="95129" first="Jenna" last="Siebert"]
Hilliard shines for Valor Christian
Five Valor Christian players, including Raegan Beers Raegan Beers 6'3" | PF Valor Christian | 2022 State #35 Nation CO , Kindyll Wetta Kindyll Wetta 5'9" | PG Valor Christian | 2021 State CO , Jenna Siebert Jenna Siebert 5'8" | CG Valor Christian | 2021 State CO and Karissa Lukasiewicz Karissa Lukasiewicz 5'11" | SF Valor Christian | 2021 State CO , scored in double figures during a 91-30 win over Far Northeast on Friday night. The fifth player was sophomore Mariah Hilliard Mariah Hilliard 5'4" | PG Valor Christian | 2022 State CO , the sixth-leading scorer on the Eagles’ roster.
Hilliard finished the game with 16 points, which tied with Beers for the team lead, as well as six rebounds and four steals. The shooting guard, who is shooting 50 percent (17 for 34) from long range this season, was 6 for 9 from the field and 4 for 6 from 3-point range.
[player_tooltip player_id="145559" first="Genesis" last="Sweetwine"]
Rangeview Raiders get off and running
After a first-round bye, the Rangeview Raiders were understandably excited to get things going in the second round on Friday night. That showed throughout a 55-41 victory over a good Chaparral team in which the Raiders played excellent defense that allowed their talented guards Brianna Linnear Brianna Linnear 5'8" | CG Rangeview | 2021 State CO , Ny’Era West Ny’Era West 5'9" | CG Rangeview | 2022 State CO and Genesis Sweetwine Genesis Sweetwine 5'4" | PG Rangeview | 2022 State CO to get out and wreak havoc in transition.
Clark has a big night against Horizon
[player_tooltip player_id="116769" first="Abby" last="Wrede"]Several Cherry Creek Bruins played really well in a 77-55 win over Horizon in the second round. But when the Bruins joined the 5A field, it was Colorado State-bound senior Cali Clark Cali Clark 6'3" | PF Cherry Creek | 2020 State CO who stood out the most.
Clark finished with 25 points on a 9-for-12 shooting performance from the field, was 7 for 7 at the free-throw line, and also finished with 14 rebounds, 5 assists and two blocks. Clark is averaging 13.5 points and 10.9 rebounds as a senior.
Also for Cherry Creek, Stanford-bound senior point guard Jana Van Gytenbeek Jana Van Gytenbeek 5'7" | PG Cherry Creek | 2020 CO had 16 points and 10 assists. Junior shooting guard Abby Wrede Abby Wrede 5'8" | SG Cherry Creek | 2021 State CO scored 12 points and unsigned senior forward Carly Thompson Carly Thompson 6'1" | SF Cherry Creek | 2020 State CO had eight.
[player_tooltip player_id="95021" first="Makayla" last="Hemingway"]
Makayla Hemingway Makayla Hemingway 5'11" | SF Cherokee Trail | 2020 State CO pushes Cherokee Trail into Sweet 16
Cherokee Trail senior Makayla Hemingway Makayla Hemingway 5'11" | SF Cherokee Trail | 2020 State CO , who will be Clark’s teammate at CSU next season, had a ruthless mindset in the Cougars’ 62-57 win over Lakewood on Friday.
Leading her team to a close win over a good opponent, Hemingway finished with 22 points while shooting 44 percent (7 for 16) from the field. She was 4 for 9 from 3-point distance and finished with 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals.
On the other side, Lakewood senior guard Nadia Trevizo-Medina Nadia Trevizo-Medina 5'5" | PG Lakewood | 2020 State CO scored a game-high 24 points to help keep her Tigers in the game until the final buzzer.
[player_tooltip player_id="117682" first="Saya" last="Sabus"]
Bevington, defense keeps Ralston Valley moving forward
The Mustangs didn’t allow Pine Creek to score post a double-figure scoring total in any frame until the fourth quarter of a 56-28 win for the Mustangs.
With that type of defense, Ralston Valley didn’t need much offense to advance to the Sweet 16. Still, three Mustangs – Saya Sabus Saya Sabus 5'9" | CG Ralston Valley | 2022 State CO , Ellie Schweiker and Sydney Bevington Sydney Bevington 6'0" | PG Ralston Valley | 2021 State CO – scored in double figures. Bevington led the way with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Grandview flexes its muscles against A-West
[player_tooltip player_id="95167" first="Lauren" last="Betts"]Facing a solid Arvada West squad, the Grandview Wolves showed off the elite talent and depth that makes them one of the favorites to claim the 2019-20 crown.
Six-foot-7 sophomore Lauren Betts Lauren Betts 6'7" | C Grandview | 2022 State #1 Nation CO had 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Addison O’Grady Addison O’Grady 6'3" | PF Grandview | 2021 State #45 Nation CO had eight points and eight boards. FGCU-bound Tomia Johnson Tomia Johnson 5'6" | CG Grandview | 2020 State CO had 14 points and five assists, and fellow Division-I guard Landri Hudson Landri Hudson 5'9" | CG Grandview | 2020 State CO (Wyoming) had 10 points and four assists. Dasiya Jones Dasiya Jones 6'0" | SF Grandview | 2021 State CO finished with 11 points, and Marya Hudgins Marya Hudgins 6'0" | SF Grandview | 2022 State CO scored eight.
Kali March Kali March 5'6" | PG Arapahoe | 2020 State CO leads Arapahoe past ThunderRidge
Signed to play at Cornell College, senior point guard Kali March Kali March 5'6" | PG Arapahoe | 2020 State CO was dialed in when her Arapahoe squad traveled to face ThunderRidge in Round 2. She scored 15 points while shooting 6 for 8 from the field.
Lila Dere
Defense, Dere lead Fruita-Monument to victory
In another stellar defensive effort, the Fruita-Monument girls held Brighton to just 19 points in a win on Friday night. Senior guard Lila Dere, who is averaging 13.3 points this winter, led the team, offensively, with 20 points.
Hoffman drives Broomfield to victory in OT thriller
Broomfield senior point guard Jessica Hoffman Jessica Hoffman 5'5" | PG Broomfield | 2020 State CO hit three of Broomfield’s five 3-pointers and scored a team-high 19 points in the Eagle’s 57-36 overtime win over Mountain Vista on Friday night. Hoffman, who averages 10.3 points this season, also hit several big shots to tie the game late in the fourth quarter and again in overtime.
[player_tooltip player_id="115779" first="Jessica" last="Hoffman"]
14 the magic number of Highlands Ranch
In a 67-18 win over Chatfield that sent Highlands Ranch into the Sweet 16, three different players tied for a team-high with 14 points. Junior Payton Muma Payton Muma 5'9" | PG Highlands Ranch | 2021 State CO , junior Sarah Mitchell Sarah Mitchell 5'8" | CG Highlands Ranch | 2020 State CO and sophomore Taylor Ray Taylor Ray 6'0" | SF Highlands Ranch | 2022 State CO each scored 14 points.
[player_tooltip player_id="117721" first="Kailey" last="Page"]
Richmond comes up big in Fairview upset
Despite 20 points from Denver South junior Timiya Guevara Timiya Guevara 5'4" | PG Denver South | 2021 State CO and 18 more from Rebels freshman Tay Williams Tay Williams 5'5" | SG Denver South | 2023 State CO , Fairview was able to turn the tide and claim the upset on 16 points from Adaya Richmond. The senior guard scored all 16 of her team-high total in the second half, hitting four 3-pointers after halftime.