Class 1A steals leaders to watch out for in 2020-21

In the game of basketball today where offense is the main attraction for most people, the defense can sometimes go unnoticed both as a team and individually. But defense can wins games as effectively as offense can and every team needs that player who can turn defense into offense for herself and her teammates. Here are some Colorado players in Class 1A that have led in steals by playing hard and smart at the defensive end. &nbsp; <strong>Maddie Castro (Evangelical Christian)</strong> Castro is a versatile player who stands at 5-foot-7 and leads her team in both points and steals. A Class of 2021 graduate, she is second leading on the team for rebounds and assists per game. Castro averaged 11.7 points and shot 110 for 316 (35 percent) from the field in 2019-20. She averaged five steals per game to help her team gain extra possessions and finished with 246 points on the season. With her ability to get her hands on a lot of steals, she surpassed 100 steals last winter and with one more season left, Castro will look to continue to lead her team at both ends of the floor. <strong>Alexa Ontiveros (Sierra Grande)</strong> Ontiveros stands at 5-foot-5 but plays with a lot of heart. She has a good feel for the basketball and is not afraid to get rebounds to push the pace. She averaged 10.3 points per game on 49-for-124 (40 percent) shooting from the field and Ontiveros also averaged 4.1 rebounds and 4.6 steals per game in 2019-20. She has been improving each year and with one more year left, Ontiveros will let her presence be known on the defensive end as a senior next season. <strong>Shiinei Tallman (Antonito)</strong> Tallman had a great sophomore year debut for her team. Playing with her older sister, she was able to help her team put up points and created extra possessions with her rebounding ability. She is a versatile player that will do what it takes to help her team win and Tallman averaged 10.9 points per game on 85-for-210 (40 percent) shooting from the field in 2019-20. Standing at 5-foot-11, she also grabbed 13.3 rebounds and an incredible 4.6 steals per game. Her great size and length makes it difficult for teams to get around Tallman, allowing her to get her hands on a lot of steals. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="145417" first="Whitney" last="Chintala"] (Fleming)</strong> Chintala is a player who can score at will and led her team in scoring in with 18.7 points last winter. Along with her ability to score, Chintala also has a great feel for the game and has good timing when jumping into passing lanes. She averaged 3.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 4.5 steals per game in 2019-20. Standing at 5-foot-5, she shows the ability to knock down shots from the outside and went 153 for 346 (44 percent) from the field as a sophomore last season. Chintala was able to get her hands on an even 100 steals this past season. <strong>Kobie Beanland (Dove Creek)</strong> Beanland is a player who doesn’t score a ton of points per game but will get some big stops on defense. She averaged 5.7 points per game on 37-for-120 (31 percent) shooting from the floor in 2019-20 and shows the ability to be a great passer, leading her team in assist per game with 3.3 on average. With her ability to create turnovers, she averaged 4.4 steals per game as a junior and Beanland had a season high in steals with 14 against Telluride midway through the Bulldogs' last campaign. For her entire high school career to date, Beanland has averaged 3.8 steals per game and will look to continue putting up excellent defensive numbers this coming season.