Season Recap: Colorado Springs Metro League (4A)

Not the ending anyone wanted, it was a premature wrap for the 2019-20 girls basketball season in Colorado due to the advance of the coronavirus. Yet while the finality of the winter season leaves plenty of want, the accomplishments are no less significant. Today, we continue our look at the league battles across the state. Here’s a snapshot of action in the 4A Colorado Springs Metro League. &nbsp; <span style="color: #3366ff;font-size: 14pt"><strong>Who won the league in ’19-20</strong></span> Sierra and Canon City mirrored one another nearly every step of the way. Seriously. Both of them finished 14-1 atop league with the Tigers winning their first head-to-head meeting in January and the Stallions grabbing the other on the final day of the regular season. Sierra, an 11 seed, then upset No. 6 Thompson Valley to move into the Great Eight. Canon City was there, too, after it set the whole bracket into a daze when it knocked off No. 1 Sand Creek in the Sweet 16. Each finished 20-5. Back of that, Mesa Ridge had a nice year and finished 14-10 overall and 10-5 in league under its third coach in three seasons, Kaitlyn Mileto. Widefield, The Classical Academy and Harrison all finished above .500 in league despite finishing below the average overall. Woodland Park, Mitchell and Elizabeth rounded out the bottom of the conference. &nbsp; <span style="color: #3366ff;font-size: 14pt"><strong>Five players who shined this winter</strong></span> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="95022" first="Serin" last="Dunne"], 2020, G, Mesa Ridge</strong> [caption id="attachment_146128" align="alignright" width="300"] [player_tooltip player_id="95022" first="Serin" last="Dunne"][/caption]Soon, Dunne will be on her way to South Alabama to play Division-I basketball, a dream she’s had since middle school she told the Colorado Springs Gazette on Signing Day. Seen as a rising freshman by former coach Jeff Beatty four years ago, Dunne blossomed from a solid addition to the Grizzlies to the face of program. She averaged 16.6 points and hit 62 3's in her final season, finishing her career with 1,337 points. &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="116817" first="Liliani" last="Krause"], 2021, SF, Widefield</strong> Krause averaged 14.3 points and 7.8 rebounds, helping lead the Gladiators to the 4A postseason, where it fell to Lewis-Palmer in the opening round. Widefield began the year 0-7 but found its footing once it hit its league schedule. Krause, who had five double-doubles during the year and 90 offensive boards, was a big part of it. The junior is currently ranked 54^th in the state’s 2021 list. &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="116762" first="Amyah" last="Moore"], 2021, G/F, Harrison</strong> The 5-8 junior captain led the league in scoring with 21.8 points per game and shot a ridiculous 57 percent from the field. Currently, she’s ranked as the 23^rd best junior in Colorado by Prep Girls Hoops — a ranking that soon may be on the rise. As a junior, she also averaged 3.3 assists, six rebounds and four steals. She scored 20 or more points in 15 games and ended the season with at least 20 in her final five games, including 27 points in a loss to Northridge in the postseason. In her highest output of the year, she scored 33 against Woodland Park on 15-of-21 shooting. &nbsp; [caption id="attachment_99184" align="alignright" width="300"] [player_tooltip player_id="116817" first="Liliani" last="Krause"][/caption]<strong>[player_tooltip player_id="115814" first="Jerika" last="Moore"], 2020, SG/SF, Canon City</strong> Moore, the four-year starter of the Tigers, helped deliver one of the more shocking upsets of any of the state basketball tournaments when she helped lead Canon City past No. 1 Sand Creek. Consider it a ribbon on prized high school career. Moore averaged 16.2 points and 5.7 rebounds in the winter, up from her 14.5-5.0 averages as a junior. Ranked 73^rd in the state’s 2020 class, she is committed to Bethany College in Kansas. &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="115759" first="D’nae" last="Wilson"], 2020, PG, Sierra</strong> Wilson was the conductor and driving force behind the Stallions’ run to the Great Eight. Touting excellent court vision and a motor seemingly always switched to ‘overdrive’, she averaged 19.4 points, 3.4 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 3.0 steals. Since Sierra’s roster lacked much size this season, Stallions coach Joseph Williams told the Gazette that his team would try to outrun the opposition with guards Wilson and Azaria Lacour leading the way. Wilson, ranked 18^th in the 2020 class in Colorado, is committed to Wabash Valley in Illinois. She was named to the 5A-4A girls’ basketball all-star list by the Gazette and second team on the state’s 4A list. She finished her career with 1,510 points. &nbsp; <span style="color: #3366ff;font-size: 14pt"><strong>Who was voted all-conference in ’19-20</strong></span> <strong>First team</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="115759" first="D’nae" last="Wilson"], Sierra [caption id="attachment_99169" align="alignright" width="300"] [player_tooltip player_id="115759" first="D’nae" last="Wilson"][/caption][player_tooltip player_id="115814" first="Jerika" last="Moore"], Canon City [player_tooltip player_id="116762" first="Amyah" last="Moore"], Harrison [player_tooltip player_id="95022" first="Serin" last="Dunne"], Mesa Ridge [player_tooltip player_id="115773" first="Diamond" last="Moore"], Harrison <strong>Second team</strong> Azaria Lacour, Sierra Kate Tedquist, Canon City [player_tooltip player_id="116817" first="Liliani" last="Krause"], Widefield Sarah Iskra, Woodland Park Shenna Daum, TCA