5A/4A Southwestern League 2021-22

&nbsp; Here’s a quick peek at the 5A/4A Southwestern League. <strong>What happened in something called Season B</strong> In the season shortened by COVID-19, the Southwestern, and despite all of its travel difficulties, was one of the few leagues that managed to complete a full loop schedule. Fruita Monument was 7-1; Central (Grand Junction) a game back at 6-2. Durango, Montrose and Grand Junction had to accept losing records. &nbsp; <strong>Teams –</strong> Central (Grand Junction), Durango, Fruita Monument, Grand Junction, Montrose. &nbsp; <strong>Which playoff team(s) made the loop’s most noise?</strong> In 5A, Fruita Monument opened right in the middle – the No. 15-seeded Wildcats handled No. 16 Ponderosa 43-25 in the preliminaries before getting whipped 74-25 by Aurora’s Regis Jesuit, the eventual runner-up. As for 4A, Grand Junction won twice – the 9^th-seeded Tigers beat Lewis-Palmer 60-45 and regular challenger Berthoud 50-42. They went out in the quarterfinals 61-53 to Holy Family, which was on its way to a third-consecutive semifinals appearance. <strong> </strong> <strong>The short list of returnees to follow</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="210356" first="Mason" last="Rowland"], Durango, Jr., G-F, 5-8 PGH-CO 2023 No. 16. An all-around athlete, a 3-sporter who can play. MVP of the league as well as its leading scorer (15.0 ppg). Comfortable inside or outside and gets up and down the floor with conviction. &nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id="316808" first="Taylor" last="Yanosky"], Montrose, Sr., G, 5-7 Team had a tough year – Indians were 3-10 – and she felt most of the opposition’s defensive pressure. Still, Yanosky averaged 11.7 points, third in the Southwestern, on 42 percent shooting. She’ll be looking for more help this go-round. &nbsp; Kylie Wells, Fruita Monument, Sr., 5-6, G Integral part of Wildcats’ playoff showing the past season. Will be asked to do more this year, including running the the team and upping her 9.8 ppg. &nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id="331315" first="Krystyna" last="Manzanarez"], Central (G.J.), So., G-F, 5-8 Opened her schoolgirl career nicely with 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds. Now, we need to see if she can make the jump regular, dependable  contributor and leader. <strong>You may also wish to keep track of …</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="331316" first="Brynn" last="Wagner"], Central (G.J.), So., G, 5-7 See: Krystyna Martinez and what’s projected about her. And Wagner shot 40 percent from the 3-point line the past season. &nbsp; Josie Colter, Montrose, Sr., F, 5-8 A scrapper with 7.3 points and 6.3 rebounds. Not a lot of height in the Southwestern, so she should be a regular contributor inside. &nbsp; <strong>A short look ahead to 2021-22</strong> It’s a common theme among larger classifications – six of the top nine leading scorers return. Know-how returns. Mountain teams should have a competitive league chase, so the hills should be alive with the sounds of squeaking sneakers. The trick, once again, is to gain confidence and gear up to take on others, particularly from the Denver area. &nbsp;