Regional Playoff Predictions Girls Basketball Class 2A
Official Regional Brackets are released.
Class 2A
The 8 state teams will be seeded by RPI, avoiding regional and, if possible, districts match-ups.
East Region Qualifiers: Is seeded off RPI
District 2: Yuma, Wray, Haxtun
District 4: Limon, Burlington, Denver Christian
District 6: Swink, Fowler, Hoehne
District 7: Clear Creek, Lyons, Highland
District 8: Evangelical Christian, Simla, Ellicott
West Region Qualifier: Seeded by District Champions and Avoid District opponents:
District 1: Del Norte, Sanford, Center
District 3: Ignacio, Norwood, Ridgway
District 5: Paonia, Meeker, Rangely
East Region
Winners from each Pod advance to the state tournament, Seeded off RPI and Avoiding District Matchups
Pod A
#1 Yuma
#10 Limon vs 15 Hoehne
- The first round game between Limon and Hoehne is heavily favored to a very improved Limon team. Hoehne though won’t back down and should be a fun game. Hoehne finished third in the District 6 tournament beat John Mall 39-32 and avenging a loss to John Mall in the final regular season game. Hoehne now must refocus and get ready for a very good Limon team. Limon come into the regional tournament dropping its 3rd game of the season. They lost in the District 4 championship to Denver Christian 32-30. Before that loss Limon was on a 9 game winning streak which included good wins over Strasburg, Evangelical Christian, Burlington, and Peyton. Limon will not be an easy out in the first round and should advance to take on Yuma in the Regional Championship. Yuma was able to put some very good wins towards the end of the year and beat Holyoke and Wray to grab the District 2 Championship. They now are the #1 seed in the region but they will have a tough draw in a potential match up with Limon. Yuma is the favorite to advance to the Final 8 but I could see their game against Limon being within 10 points but I still have Yuma advancing to Loveland.
Pod B
#2 Wray
#9 Clear Creek vs 14 Burlington
- Burlington did a good job closing out in the third place game and beating Byers 35 to 32 in OT to grab a spot in regionals. The only problem is they play a very underrated and very good Clear Creek team. Clear Creek played a 3A schedule and only lost 3 games the whole season. They played in the Frontier League in 3A and would have grabbed a very high seed in that tournament but they played 2A and lost to Highland in the Semifinals of District 7 but beat Union Colony Prep 36 to 27 and grabbed a Regional spot. Clear Creek I think should get past Burlington and set up an interesting matchup with Wray. Wray avenged an early season loss to Haxtun beating them 46 to 40 in the semifinals before falling to Yuma in the championship 59 to 38. Wray had a very interesting season picking up 6 losses on the season but played a very tough schedule. They could have a potential matchup with Clear Creek in the second round and that could be a tough test for Wray. Wray I think will be a tough test for Clear Creek though and Wray should advance to the final 8.
Pod C
#3 Simla
#8 Ellicott vs 13 Fowler
- Fowler had a good run to the end of the season and finished second in the District 6 tournament. They lost to Swink 35 to 27 but grabbed a playoff spot. They have not been able to put a solid run together this season picking up 7 losses on the season. They will still be a tough out for Ellicott in the first round. Ellicott put together a nice run in the District 8 tournament but fell short against Evangelical Christian in the District 8 Championship. Ellicott picked up a very important victory on Simla on 2/17. That match up I believe will happen in the second round. Simla Finished third in the District 8 tournament losing to a red hot Evangelical Christian in the semifinals but the beat Colorado Springs School 57 to 33 in the third place game. Simla went 2-2 in their last 4 games after starting the season 16-2. They must quickly figure out what happened on the backend of the season and quick as they will have a potential matchup against Ellicott in the Regional Finals. Simla lost to Ellicott on 2/17 40 to 36 and this rematch should be very good. Simla I think will be in trouble again against Ellicott and this game should come down to the wire. I am going to pick Ellicott to upset Simla in the Regional Championship and advance to the Final 8.
Pod D
#4 Swink
#7 Lyons vs 12 Denver Christian
- Denver Christian had a nice run in the District 4 tournament and was able to upset Limon in the Championship and take home the District title. Denver Christian is a very underrated team and have a few very nice wins including wins over Highland, Alexander Dawson, Jim Elliot, and Skyview Academy. Denver Christian will look to have one more run of upsets to try and qualify for state. They will face one of the toughest pods in 2A so it won’t be easy. They play Lyons in the first round. Lyons enters the matchup with a 19-3 record and were able to beat Highland 36 to 33 in the District 7 Championship. Lyons though will have their hands full in the first round as they lost to Denver Christian in the regular season 31-29 so none of these games are a given. Lyons I believe will avenge their early season loss and advance to the Regional Championship vs Swink. Swink enters the matchup against Lyons with a 19-2 record with it’s only losses coming to Centauri and Del Norte. They have won 18 straight games including a 35 to 27 victory over Fowler in the District 6 Championship. Swink is in a very competitive pod and is the second toughest pod in 2A East Region. Swink I think is the 3rd or 4th best team in 2A and they should be able to get past a pesky Lyons team and reach the Final 8.
Pod E
#5 Evangelical Christian
#6 Haxtun vs #11 Highland
- Pod E is the toughest Pod in the East Region and there is good reason. Highland finished second in the District 7 tournament losing to Lyons 36 to 33. Highland is a team that is finally getting going in the right directions but is facing a gruling task of facing Haxtun and if they win Evangelical Christian. Haxtun lost a tight game to Wray 46 to 40 and fell into the third place game where they had to fight for their lives against a tough Holyoke team. Haxtun was able to get some good momentum going and beat Holyoke 44 to 19 and advance to the regional tournament. Haxtun was on a very solid winning streak before losing to Wray they had won 7 straight games and now are looking to restart their winning streak and it won’t be easy with games against a red hot Evangelical Christian team. Evangelical Christian turned on the burn’s after a 44 to 38 loss to Limon. They have won 5 straight games including upset victory’s over Simla and Ellicott and won the District 8 tournament. They now are host a region but they will once again not be the favorite to advance to the Final 8. Haxtun will be the favorite to advance from Pod E especially when they come from gruling District 2. I believe a potential match up between Evangelical Christian and Haxtun will be a very tight game and will come down to the wire. I have Haxtun pulling a very narrow victory over Evangelical Christian and Haxtun will be the third team form District 2 to reach the Final 8.
West Region
Pod F
#1 Paonia
#6 Norwood vs #9 Center
- Just like the Center boys Center shocked everyone when they upset Sargent in the third place game beating them 44 to 30 and played one of their best games of the season. Center now must refocus and look to pull one more upset against Norwood. Center must be as healthy as possible and Norwood will be on upset aleart. Norwood had a solid run through the District 3 tournament finishing second losing in the Championship game to Ignacio 37 to 22. Norwood now must quickly rebound as they play a pesky and well coach Center team. Norwood could be in a bit of trouble as Norwood didn’t play as tough as a schedule as Center. I am going with Center to pull the upset in the first round be whichever team that wins will be in a bit of trouble as they play undefeated Paonia. Paonia is playing great basketball and were the #1 ranked team through the season and were able to keep rolling beating every team in the district tournament by 20+ points. Paonia I don’t think will be challenged in the Pod but all it takes is a small slip up and if it’s Center playing them Center could challenge them. Paonia should advance to the Final 8.
Pod G
#2 Del Norte
#5 Meeker vs #8 Ridgway
- Ridgway grabbed a big upset victory over Telluride in the third place game winning 35 to 30 and grab a spot in the regional tournament. They will be the big underdogs in the first round when they play Meeker. Meeker finished second in the District 5 tournament upsetting Soroco in the Semifinals and then losing by 31 to Paonia in the Championship. Meeker better not overlook Ridgway to Del Norte or could get upset but they big matchup will be them between and Del Norte. Del Norte was finally challenged in the District 1 tournament with narrow wins against Sargent by 8 and Sanford by 19. They will be looking to advance to the final 8 and Meeker more than likely will be standing in their way. Del Norte must get back to the way they were playing before the District tournament and if they can they should be able to get by Meeker and into the Final 8. I am picking Del Norte to beat Meeker by 15 point and advance to the Final 8.
Pod H
#3 Ignacio
#4 Sanford vs #7 Rangely
- In the most competitive pod in the Western Region this will be a couple very fun games to watch. Starting in round 1 with a interesting matchup between Sanford and Rangely. I did pick Rangely to make it to the Regional tournament but not to take the path they did. They lost to Paonia in the Semifinals but had a much tougher match up against Soroco I expected Meeker here. Rangely was able to shock everyone pulling a big upset of Soroco 54 to 53 and advance to the Regional tournament. Rangely now plays a pesky and good shooting Sanford team. No offense to Ignacio but I honestly believe the winner between Sanford and Rangely will advance to the Final 8. Sanford did a good job playing Del Norte in the District 1 championship and were in it till the fourth quarter were Del Norte pulled away and won by 19. Sanford has shown at times that they could be very competitive but other times loss games they shouldn’t like to Rye. If Sanford can figure out how they only lost to #2 Centauri (3A) by 2 then they should be able to get by Rangely and set up a very interesting matchup against Ignacio. I am picking Sanford over Rangely in a 1 or 2 point game and this is a big toss up. Ignacio was able to finish off the District 3 championship with a 37 to 22 victory over Norwood. I don’t think Ignacio played the sort of competition that Rangely or Sanford played and they will be the underdogs regardless of who wins between the two. They will need to play their best game of the year to advance to the Final 8. I am going with the winner of the first round game to advance to the final 8 which I picked to be Sanford but because it’s a huge toss up game either can advance.
State tournament
Just one quick thing to remember that the state tournament of the final 8 teams is seeded by RPI and you avoid Regional/District Match ups if possible.
#1 Paonia vs #8 Sanford
#4 Wray vs #5 Swink
#3 Del Norte vs #6 Haxtun
#2 Yuma vs #7 Ellicott
MileHigh Prep Report 