Season Recap: South-Central League

Though it ended a bit prematurely, the 2019-20 season is in the books. Now that there’s some distance between the end of Colorado’s latest prep campaign and today, we’ll take a look back at what transpired in each of our state’s conferences. Here’s a snapshot of this winter’s action in the South-Central League. &nbsp; <span style="color: #3366ff;font-size: 18pt"><strong>Who won the league in ’19-20?</strong></span> Pueblo West dominated by going 10-0 league and there was never really a doubt as the Cyclones’ closest league matchup was a 45-24 win at Pueblo County. The Cyclones lost only one game all year and entered the Class 4A playoffs as the No. 2 overall seed at 22-1, the lone loss coming to Valor Christian. Playing the Cyclones helped the rest of the league improve though as Pueblo County, Pueblo South, Pueblo East and Pueblo Central all qualified for the state tournament after the South Colts prevailed in a tight race for second in the S-CL at 7-3. &nbsp; <span style="color: #3366ff;font-size: 18pt"><strong>Five players who shined this winter</strong></span> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="95017" first="Hannah" last="Simental"], 2020, 5-8 PG, Pueblo West</strong> [caption id="attachment_141436" align="alignright" width="300"] [player_tooltip player_id="95017" first="Hannah" last="Simental"][/caption]Not only did Simental shine in Pueblo, she dominated across the state and was named the Class 4A Player of the Year by the Colorado High School Activities Association. Simental averaged 16.9 points per game to lead the Cyclones and also led in assists (2.6) and steals (3.1) per game. The Northern-Colorado commit dominated games for Pueblo West as they went all the way to Great Eight before being upset by Holy Family. Still, Simental put on a show in her final season by helping the Cyclones turn nearly all of their games into blowouts, thanks in part to 49 made 3-pointers, the 10th most in Class 4A. &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="115785" first="Jada" last="Dupree"], 2020, 5-6 G, Pueblo South</strong> [caption id="attachment_143201" align="alignleft" width="300"] [player_tooltip player_id="115785" first="Jada" last="Dupree"][/caption]After watching a group of seniors that helped the Colts reach three consecutive state title games, Dupree had quite the shoes to fill. The speedster passed that test with flying colors by posting 16.3 points per game and swiping 3 steals a game. She proved she’s the fastest girl in Pueblo last spring by winning the city title in the 100 meter dash, and she used that speed to give opponents headaches all year on defense. Dupree is still debating on playing basketball or going for track at the collegiate level. &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="115776" first="Erin" last="Mauro"], 2020, 5-6 SG, Pueblo County</strong> [caption id="attachment_148817" align="alignright" width="300"] [player_tooltip player_id="115776" first="Erin" last="Mauro"][/caption]If the Hornets needed a job, they looked to Mauro all season long as the senior led the team in scoring with 10.7 points per game. However, what was more impressive is that Mauro led the S-CL in assists per game with 2.7, and the 5-foot-6 guard also pulled down the second most boards in the league with 6.3 a night. Mauro, who’s also proven to be the best tennis player in Pueblo, proved she is a fighter and scrapper all season to go along with her sharpshooting prowess. &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="145407" first="Harlie" last="Medrano"], 2022, F, Pueblo East</strong> [caption id="attachment_138726" align="alignleft" width="300"] [player_tooltip player_id="145407" first="Harlie" last="Medrano"][/caption]Medrano helped get the Eagles back into the state tournament after a one-year absence behind 8.3 points per game. The sophomore took over the club this season by battling for rebounds down low and also displaying her ability to knock down shots from anywhere in the halfcourt. The Eagles were thin on the bench, so the three-sport athlete in Medrano was called upon quite a bit and continued to deliver by helping keep Pueblo East in the running for second place in the S-CL. &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="145400" first="Alicia" last="Lest"], 2021, 6-0 F, Pueblo Central</strong> [caption id="attachment_137705" align="alignright" width="150"] [player_tooltip player_id="145400" first="Alicia" last="Lest"][/caption]Lest improved quite a bit in the winter thanks in part to using her height against a smaller S-CL slate. The junior finished with the most rebounds per game in the league with 8.7 a game and also contributed 8.1 points per game, second most on the team. In the fall, Lest was instrumental in the Wildcats getting two league wins, which is more than they had in the previous 15 seasons combined. With a trend only going upward, Lest could be a force for the Wildcats come next winter after a successful junior campaign. &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 18pt"><strong><span style="color: #3366ff">Who was voted all-conference in 2019-20?</span></strong></span> <strong>First Team</strong> MVP: [player_tooltip player_id="95017" first="Hannah" last="Simental"], Pueblo West [player_tooltip player_id="95180" first="Gabby" last="Louther"], Pueblo West [player_tooltip player_id="115785" first="Jada" last="Dupree"], Pueblo South [player_tooltip player_id="145407" first="Harlie" last="Medrano"], Pueblo East [player_tooltip player_id="115776" first="Erin" last="Mauro"], Pueblo County [player_tooltip player_id="145400" first="Alicia" last="Lest"], Pueblo Central <strong>Second Team</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="115772" first="Maya" last="Sanchez"], Pueblo West [player_tooltip player_id="145399" first="Shayla" last="Padilla"], Pueblo West [player_tooltip player_id="145413" first="Tyjhanae" last="Penny"], Pueblo Centennial [player_tooltip player_id="117696" first="Chloe" last="Keck"], Pueblo South Rose Weimer, Pueblo County