4A First Round Preview: Tricia Bader-Binford Quadrant
With the announcement of the 5A and 4A state tournament brackets on Sunday morning, it officially became playoff times for Colorado’s two largest classifications. To continue our corner-to-corner tournament preview, here is a look at what to expect from each…
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Continue ReadingWith the announcement of the 5A and 4A state tournament brackets on Sunday morning, it officially became playoff times for Colorado’s two largest classifications.
To continue our corner-to-corner tournament preview, here is a look at what to expect from each game in the Class 4A Tricia Bader-Binford quadrant.
First-round byes: No. 2 Pueblo West, No. 15 George Washington, No. 7 Holy Family and No. 10 Air Academy.
No. 31 Denver West (16-6, 5-5 Denver Prep) vs. No. 34 Littleton (11-12, 3-9 Jeffco)
This game begins with what 5-foot-9 sophomore guard Jasmine Arreola will do for Denver West. She scores 18.5 points per game, fifth best in Class 4A, and averages 12.9 rebounds which is .1 short of being the top mark in 4A. Plus the Cowgirls get after it on defense with 18.1 steals as a team, 5.2 of which come from Arreola and another 5.9 from sophomore Mia Trevino. Littleton will respond with an army as it had nine players see action in 20 or more games this season. Senior Susie Puchino has been the brightest star with a team-high 8.8 points per game and can also get it done on defense with 3.8 steals per game. Should be a fun guard matchup all night between the two teams.
Other Denver West players to watch: Keylonie Fenery, Paige Held, Abigail Fenery.
Other Littleton players to watch: Brooke Wolanin, Ava Youngblood-Yazzi, Jasmyn Thompson-Harvey.
No. 18 Ponderosa (16-7, 6-4 Continental) vs. No. 47 Conifer (8-15, 4-3 Colorado 8)
Liberty LinePonderosa brings in a tough scoring duo with junior Liberty Line and 6-foot senior Katherine Higgins as they average 16 and 15.9 points per game, respectively. Line has hit the most 3-pointers in Class 4A this season with 63 deep balls while Higgins has 8.8 boards down low to help provide an inside game for the Mustangs. Conifer has what teams love to have come the postseason and that’s two senior guards in Jordyn West and Sierra Hayes. They both average just over 10 points a game and grab 5.7 rebounds a game each. West plays more point with 5.5 assists per game and has 5.6 steals per game. If the Lobos want to pull the upset, look for West to try and harrass Line on defense and try to outrebound Higgins down low.
Other Ponderosa players to watch: Katelyn Fredrickson, Carolyn Ho, Kayli Spall.
Other Conifer players to watch: Carly Scheck, Isabella Namaksy, Cydney Rice.
No. 26 Northridge (14-9, 10-4 Northern) vs. No. 39 Harrison (11-11, 8-7 CS Metro)
Northridge brings a young squad into the tournament led by sophomore guard Seneya Martinez and her team-high 11.3 points per game. She also averages 2.7 assists per game on a Grizzlies squad that averages 15.7 steals per game. Fellow guard in junior Mckenna Cone also adds in 10.3 points and two steals per game. They will need that defense to step against Harrison as it has 5-foot-8 guard.forward Amyah Moore, who’s 21.6 points per game is the best in Class 4A. The junior already has over 1,000 points in her career and is shooting 57 percent from the field this season, as well as picking up 6.1 boards per game. Meanwhile, Diamond Moore works even stronger down low with a Class 4A-high 13 rebounds per game and 16.7 points per game. If the Moore girls can put up those numbers against a tough Northridge defense, an upset could be in the making.
Other Northridge players to watch: Karly Beck, Makenna Shaffer, Lilyanna Ramos.
Other Harrison players to watch: Elizah Moya, Jovanni Murray.
No. 23 Palmer Ridge (12-11, 6-8 Pikes Peak) vs. No. 42 Pueblo East (9-14, 5-5 South-Central)
Pueblo East High School’s Harlie Medrano drives to the bucket Jan. 21 against Pueblo Central.Senior guard Edin Bonser leads the Bears with 13.6 points per game and has her hand in every part of the game with at two rebounds, assists and steals per game. Mia Womack, a sophomore, chips in 11.3 points per game while the Bears have a deep roster where each player contributes in a different area of the game. For Pueblo East, the end of the season has been tough after losing senior shooter Evelin Valdez to an injury. That’s left more pressure on sophomore forward Harlie Medrano, who averages 8.2 points per game in her breakout season. The Eagles will need a sharpshooting game from senior Jaylene Escajeda and her 7.6 points per game in order to space the floor.
Other Palmer Ridge players to watch: Sydney Day, Charlotte Hauke, Hannah Dove.
Other Pueblo East players to watch: Jaydan Garcia, Grace Helzer.