Playoff Predictions Elite 8, Final 4, & State Championship Girls Basketball Class 1A

Playoff Predictions Elite 8, Final 4, & State Championship Girls Basketball Class 1A

Class 1A

I will only predict the Winners side of the bracket. A full consolation bracket will be played out to a fifth place. I will predict a fifth place winner but I will not do a full breakdown of the games. I will only breakdown the winner’s side. The 1A bracket has on teams that will not contest. Besides that the rest of the 1A bracket should be very competitive and will lead to some very fun games.

State tournament predictions

#1 Kit Carson vs #8 Nucla @ 11:45am on 3/9

Nucla was able to score of couple of monster wins to grab a spot in Regionals beating North Park 38-32 and then upsetting Ouray 42-30. Nucla was then able to beat Sierra Grande 42-37 and advance to the Elite 8. Nucla was not supposed to be here and they have shocked everyone getting into the Elite 8. Nucla is led by senior Taylor Sickels averaging 15.3 ppg and 6.9 rpg. Nucla will need to play their best game of the season to have any chance at the upset.
#1 Kit Carson finished the regular season at 19-0 and then advanced to the District tournament where they finished off the District 2 title with a 54-22 victory over Eads. They received a bye in the Regional and faced off against McClave in the Regional finals and took care of business beating McClave 53-29. Kit Carson is the favorite right now to win the state title and should get off to a good start. Kit Carson is led by sophomore Tess Hornung who is averaging 14.2 ppg and 8.0 rpg. They will need to get some help around Hornung if they plan on winning the state title.
I think this is one of the two blowouts in the Elite 8. I think Kit Carson will take care of business and win by 20 points.
Winner plays @ 4:00pm on 3/10 and loser plays @ 8:45am on 3/10

#4 South Baca vs #5 Briggsdale @ 8:45am on 3/9

#5 Briggsdale finished second in the District 4 tournament and didn’t receive a bye at regionals and had to win two to advance to the Elite 8. Briggsdale beat Caliche 48-31 and then took care of Otis 47-32 to advance to the Elite 8. Briggsdale enters the Elite 8 with a record of 18-5. Their five losses are to Arickaree/Woodlin, Fleming three times, and Heritage Christian. The team not in the Elite 8 is Arickaree/Woodlin but Briggsdale has been a consistent team in the Top Ten rankings all year and are looking to take the next step and upset a top team. Briggsdale is missing a top win so no better time than at State. Briggsdale is led by junior Jodel Erickson who is averaging 13.5 ppg and 7.9 rpg.
There are two teams in the Elite 8 that are not getting that much recognition and that is South Baca and Antonito both of those teams are top teams but not getting much attention. #4 South Baca enters the Elite 8 with a record of 19-3. Their 3 losses are to Kim/Branson, Springfield (2A), and Eads. Two of the three were the first game of the year. South Baca has a couple good wins beating Springfield, Kim/Branson, and Wiley. South Baca finished first in the District 3 tournament but didn’t receive a bye and had to play two games to get a big to the Elite 8. They opened up regional play with a 63-27 beating of Edison then upset Kiowa in the Regional Finals 50-32 and they caught my attention with that win. South Baca must now refocus for a chance at the reaching the Final 4. South Baca is led by senior forward Bree-ann Carwin averaging a 21.9 ppg and 10.5 rpg. She is the only South Baca player in double digits. She will need some help if they plan on making a run for the state title and they will need her to play the best games of her Career.
Both teams rely heavily on one player and it could come down to which player plays the best basketball. South Baca has shown it can beat top talent and that is something Briggsdale has not shown. I am going with South Baca to advance to the Final 4.
Winner plays @ 4:00 pm & Loser plays at 8:45am on 3/10

#3 Fleming vs #6 Antonito @ 7:00pm on 3/9

The most underrated team in the 1A girls ranks is Antonito and the main reason why is because their league is just not good. Antonito enters the Elite 8 with a perfect 23-0 record and will be tested like no other in the Elite 8. Antonito didn’t play much in terms of top teams in Colorado but played one of the top teams in 2A in New Mexico in Escalante 21-7 and they are playing in the Semifinals for a chance to get to the finals. Antonito did turn my head with a 49-33 drumming of Kim/Branson as well who is a top team. Antonito reached the Elite 8 by blowing out Ouray 65-36. Antonito will need to be ready for the big stage and must play with confidence to upset Fleming. Antonito is led by junior forward Erykah Tallman averaging 15.6 ppg and 14.8 rpg and also chipping in is junior Josyln Garcia averaging 14.8 ppg. Antonito is pretty deep in scoring with 5 players scoring over 7.7 ppg and they will need everyone to chip in if they plan on the upset.
#3 Fleming is coming in as the second best team in 1A. They are 22-1 with their one loss to #1 Kit Carson on 2/4. Fleming didn’t not get a good draw and are facing a top team right off the bat but that is what happens when they seed solely on RPI and not even looking at opponents beat. Fleming should have been the 2 seed. Fleming ran the District 4 tournament beating Heritage Christian in the championship 67-55 and then received a bye at Regionals. In the Regional Finals Fleming took care of business beating Rocky Mountain Lutheran 51-31. Fleming when playing top talent has been in good games and I have a feeling this will be a very tight game. Fleming is led by junior center Alli Keisel 14.5 ppg and 7.6 rpg and sophomore Jenna Lengfelder 11.7 ppg and 4.7 steal per game. Fleming must be ready to battle with a very good team
This will be the best game of the Elite 8 and I honestly believe will go a long way to determine the State Champion. Fleming and Antonito match up very well both have bigs that are the same height and both have guards that can score. The difference will be role players chipping in and I give the advantage to Antonito. I think both teams got the raw end of the deal when it came to seeding and both these teams will be top teams next year and both are returning their top two scorers. This will be a fun game and I am going with the upset. I am picking Antonito to upset Fleming and advance to the Final 4.
Winner plays @ 7:00pm on 3/10 & loser plays at 11:45am on 3/10

#2 Heritage Christian vs #7 Eads @ 4:00pm on 3/9

#7 Eads is the Cinderella story of 1A girls. I didn’t pick them to get out of district and they upset McClave to advance to regionals and when I saw the draw I figured they would lose in the first round of regionals but they were out to prove everyone wrong. They upset Holly 56-52 and then upset Kim/Branson 34-29 to advance to the Elite 8. Eads enters the Elite 8 on FIRE going 16-8 and in February beat South Baca, McClave, and Kim/Branson. They are a team I wouldn’t want to play right now. Eads is led by junior Mariah Smith averaging 10.6 ppg & 8.1 rpg. Eads will need more than one player to step up and break the 10 point mark to upset #2 Heritage Christian.
#2 Heritage Christian picked up its first loss of the season in the District finals losing to Fleming 67-55 they rebounded but only scored 27 point against a tough and physical Arickaree/Woodlin team. They beat Arickaree/Woodlin 27-21 in the Regional Finals to advance. Heritage Christian must rebound or could be in trouble of getting upset. From what I have noticed against top teams they have struggled to score only scoring 25 against Briggsdale and 27 against Arickaree/Woodlin they must be able to score against top teams or could be in trouble of an upset. Heritage Christian is led by senior Sarah McGinley averaging 20.6 ppg, 6.4 apg, 9.8 rpg, and 3.8 steal per game. She is the main player on this team and if she gets shut down they tend to struggle. If Heritage Christian wants any chance at state they must get some help for their main scorer.
Eads has been wearing their Cinderella slipper but I believe their party will be coming to an end. They are playing a team with a clutch player and even if it’s a low scoring game they have the scorer to get them points and win game. I am picking Heritage Christian to the Final 4.
Winner plays @ 7:00pm and loser plays @ 11:45am on 3/10

Rest of the Predictions

Consolation Bracket

#5 Briggsdale over #8 Nucla

#3 Fleming over #7 Eads

Consolation Finals

#3 Fleming over #5 Briggsdale

Final 4

#1 Kit Carson over #4 South Baca

#6 Antonito over #2 Heritage Christian

3^rd Place Game

#4 South Baca over #2 Heritage Christian

State Championship