Mead Wins 4A/5A Preseason Event: Six teams’ standouts
In this article:
* Olivia Sears Olivia Sears 5'5" | PG Green Mountain | 2022 State CO pictured above With fall leagues wrapped up, Green Mountain High School hosted one of the area’s last off-season tune-up events before the real thing starts this…
Access all of Prep Girls Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue Reading* Olivia Sears Olivia Sears 5'5" | PG Green Mountain | 2022 State CO pictured above
With fall leagues wrapped up, Green Mountain High School hosted one of the area’s last off-season tune-up events before the real thing starts this month.
Heavyweights Chatfield, Mead, Castle View, Broomfield, Horizon, and Green Mountain each played three games and almost every game was competitive.
Offering length and athleticism at every spot, Mead (3-0) had the strongest showing, beating Castle View, Broomfield, and Horizon. The Mavericks made all three opponents uncomfortable with presses and traps that showed midseason form. Charlotte Brennan Charlotte Brennan 5'6" | CG Mead | 2023 State CO and Kyra Haan Kyra Haan 5'7" | CG Mead | 2023 State CO constantly attacked the rim, with Brennan killing it at the free throw line and Haan killing it from behind the arc. Then there’s the versatility of Edie Morrow Edie Morrow 5'10" | SF Mead | 2022 State CO and Jackie Stephenson Jackie Stephenson 5'10" | PF Mead | 2022 CO . Both are tough, strong, talented, and give Mead the chance to go for anything they want this year. They’re a well-coached group on the short-list of 4A contenders.
Castle View (2-1) is trending back up towards the top of the Continental League. Coach Matt Hema has plenty of reasons to be optimistic despite losing his two top scorers to graduation. Abby Nagel is one of them. She flies in transition and showed she’s ready to step into first-option status as a shooter. Ella Seeley Ella Seeley 5'10" Castle View Hugh | 2022 CO adds muscle and technical skills within eight feet of either basket. Olivia Loveland Olivia Loveland 5'8" | SF Castle View | 2024 State CO has the size and strength to defend every spot and is a wicked talented scorer with great range. And when the Cats need ball handling and someone who can make others better, Rielley McNeill Rielley McNeill 5'8" | CG Castle View | 2023 State CO has the overall game to create something from nothing anytime the Sabercats need a bucket. Castle View really muscled out tough wins over Horizon and Chatfield after dropping one to Mead.
Green Mountain (2-1) showcased a rising sophomore, Taylor Ellington Taylor Ellington 5'7" | SG Green Mountain | 2024 State CO , with solid ball handling and defensive energy all day. Against the Chargers, last year’s Jeffco 4A League MVP, Jayda Maves Jayda Maves 5'8" | SG Green Mountain | 2023 State CO , went into one of her out-of-body experiences where she blacks out and wakes up with twenty points in the books. As the Rams were seeking depth at forward, Morgan Falconer showed she can defend inside and also embraces the Rams’ attacking offensive mentality. The smallest shot-put state finalist I’ve ever seen, Falconer shows strength can beat size and that may be a formula Green Mountain needs to rely on for depth at forward behind NCAA D2 commit, Avery Oaster Avery Oaster 6'0" | PF Green Mountain | 2022 State CO . The Rams do have one of the best guard trios in 4A with Maves and senior ball-handlers Olivia Sears Olivia Sears 5'5" | PG Green Mountain | 2022 State CO and Shea Murphy Shea Murphy 5'6" | PG Green Mountain | 2022 State CO . The Rams dropped a close one to Horizon and scrapped for close wins over Broomfield and Chatfield.
Chatfield (1-2) is the real deal this year and won’t just quit when someone gets hot. The Chargers weathered Maves’ storm and pulled within two points midway through the final period before Green Mountain sealed it. Chatfield will be right in the mix for the not-Valor championship of Jeffco 5A (a fight for dibs on Jeffco-proper, not quite a championship, but better than a consolation). Some new faces who gained stripes were freshman Kylie Bickford, sophomore Ava Erickson, and I was impressed enough with Millie Hubbell, a senior, that I had to stop her in the handshake line and ask her name. A 5’10″ do-it-all player, Hubbell has a great shot and gives the Charges so many threats. I haven’t even mentioned former League MVP Grace Talbot Grace Talbot 5'6" | PG Chatfield | 2022 State CO (15.7 PPG) whose range extends to parts of the floor where defenders aren’t used to contesting shots. Plus they have a speed demon of an athlete who can shoot, Talea Kuennen Talea Kuennen 5'6" | SG Chatfield | 2022 State CO (9.1 PPG last year). The Chargers beat Broomfield and lost a two-point game to Castle View.
The Horizon Hawks (1-2) can run this year and the Horizon Hawks can flex muscle. They attack defensive transition with relentless aggression and set stronger screens than many college teams. I talked about their explosiveness here but in this preseason tournament it was their toughness that stood out. Alyssa Temple’s shooting ability makes her such a tough matchup. With the leadership of Audra Vine Audra Vine 5'4" | PG Horizon | 2022 State CO (14.3 PPG) and the potential of 6’3″ freshman Kaitlin Schumann Kaitlin Schumann 6'4" | PF Horizon | 2025 State CO , this Horizon team is a blank canvas. The Hawks dropped close games to Mead and Castle View after beating Green Mountain.
Broomfield (0-3) was well short of their full squad and still played Green Mountain close into the 4th quarter. Sophie Christopher Sophie Christopher 5'6" | CG Broomfield | 2023 State CO is a really strong ball handler making the Eagles tough to pressure. More on Christopher in an upcoming piece next week. Sophomore Kayleigh Jones impressed Coach Mike Croell and after graduating the 1105 point-scoring, 6’2″ Courtney Wristen, the Eagles are welcoming a forward who could step right in to help fill that void, Sydney Deem Sydney Deem 6'2" | PF Broomfield | 2025 State CO . The Eagles face a daunting non-league schedule to prep them what should be a good fight in the Front Range with games against Mullen, Rangeview, Holy Family, and Lakewood.