Stanford playing for title with 3 Coloradans

Neil Devlin

April 4, 2021 @ 12:47 AM

Say what you will about Colorado schoolgirl basketballers, but say they play for championships. In fact, Stanford, which will face Arizona on Sunday for the NCAA Women’s Championship, has three younger players from the foot of the Rocky Mountains. If you haven’t already, say hello to the Cardinal’s Francesca Belibi, Ashten Prechtel and [player_tooltip player_id="95016" first="Jana" last="Van Gytenbeek"]. The 6-foot-1 Belibi, one of only three on the Cardinal (30-2) who has appeared in every game, is averaging 7.6 points as a sophomore, fifth on the team, and 5.1 rebounds, third on the team. At Regis Jesuit in Aurora, the Raiders were 87-24 in her four years as she scored 1,135 points on 56 percent shooting and grabbed 769 rebounds. She also blocked 190 shots. Three final fours, including a title game. Belibi was an All-American and player of the year multiple times. You may have been able to pick her out on various ESPN intros and promos as she’s the goggled female dunker who also won the dunking contest in the McDonald’s Game. Prechtel, 6-5 and a sophomore, has appeared in 29 games for Stanford and contributes 5.7 points and 4.3 rebounds. She leads the team with 32 shots. At Discovery Canyon in Colorado Springs, she compiled 1,656 points, 1,336 rebounds (all-time Colorado leader) and a whopping 412 blocks. The D.C. Thunder were 46-27 over her final three seasons. Prechtel was a five-star talent, All-America and the only freshman nationally to start in the EYBL in 2016. And Van Gytenbeek, a 5-7 freshman, has played in 27 games and averages 2.1 points. At Cherry Creek in Greenwood Village, she totaled 1,731 points and set a Colorado record with 679 assists. The Bruins won the 2019 Class 5A title and would have played for the ’20 championship if not being shut down by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Bruins were 86-20 in her career. Van Gytenbeek was all-league, all-state, All-America and All-Everything. Add it up and Coloradans are being viewed as winners.  