Playoff Predictions Elite 8, Final 4, & State Championship Girls Basketball Class 3A
Class 3A
All games will be played at the University of Denver in the Hamilton Gym. This is what every team battles for and now it comes down to 8 teams playing for a state championship. There is no consolation bracket for Class 3A and only a third place game so if you lose Thursday you are done. I will give a full breakdown of first round match ups then a quick breakdown of the potential Final 4, 3rd Place, and State Championship. The 3A girls Elite 8 might be the best Elite 8 in any Classification and any of the 8 teams can take home the title.
Official 3A State Tournament Bracket:
#1 Sterling vs #9 St. Mary’s @ 7:00pm on 3/9
- #9 St. Mary’s came went into the District Tournament as one of the potential top 3 seeds and a potential title contender along with Sterling and many expected that matchup to happen in the Finals but St. Mary’s has fallen off as of late and now are faced with Sterling in the first round. Mary’s journey to the Elite 8 is a 62-28 victory over Resurrection Christian then followed that up with a 59-29 victory over Jefferson Academy and now they are tasked with a huge challenge. St. Mary’s early on jumped Sterling at #1 and now we will see how good they really are. St. Mary’s must get the fire they had early on in the season back if they plan on getting past Sterling in the Elite 8. St. Mary’s is led by senior uard Olivia Florek averaging 12.3 ppg and junior center Makenna Bodette 11.7 ppg and 6.0 rpg. St. Mary’s must get back to playing the way they did at the beginning of the year if they want to advance.
- #1 Sterling has been the most consistent team of the year going 24-0 and are looking to keep their winning streak alive. Sterling journey to the Elite 8 is two blowout wins over Venture Prep 86-17 and blowing out a very good Olathe team 47-24. Sterling didn’t just get their undefeated record by playing a weak schedule. They have solid wins against Gering NE (16-8), Mitchell NE (23-2), Fort Morgan (4A), Grand Valley, Manitou Springs, Sidney NE (20-6), Brush, Liberty Common, Eaton, and Lutheran. Because of how loaded the 3A field is all teams will need to bring it every night or could easily get upset. This will be the case for Sterling in the first round. Sterling is led by junior guard Brooke Polenz 11.2 ppg. She is the only Sterling player in double digit scoring but there are 6 players including Brooke who score over 5 ppg and they will all be big cogs if this team wants to win state.
- I will not be able to say this game or any other game in the first round will be the best game. The 8 teams in the Elite 8 are the best 8 teams in Class 3A. There are no cinderallas in the bracket. This game between St. Mary’s and Sterling will be a good one. Sterling has played consistent basketball all year and showed its muscle in the first and second round. I think they will escape a very close game with St. Mary’s and I am picking Sterling to win by 5.
#4 Colorado Springs Christian vs #12 Manitou Springs @ 4:00pm on 3/9
- Manitou Springs has awoken finally down the stretch. Manitou Springs was able to get things going down the stretch barely losing to Colorado Springs Christian in the semifinals of the Tri Peaks tournament by 7 then beat St. Mary’s 49-47 in OT. Once they got into the State Tournament they have raised their game some more. They beat Brush in the first round 73-41 and then beat Faith Christian 47-30 and now will be looking to upset Colorado Springs Christian in the Elite 8. Manitou Springs will need to play their best game of the year to upset League rival Colorado Springs Christian. Manitou Springs is led by senior guard Shelby Megyeri 17.4 ppg and sophomore guard Calleen Sienknecht 10.4 ppg. Manitou Springs will need their leaders to upset Colorado Springs Christian.
- #4 Colorado Springs Christian solidified that they are a top team when they beat Lamar 37-31 in the League Championship. They then flexed their muscles in the first and second rounds. They beat Strasburg 61-30 then beat Eaton 60-25. I am sure they didn’t want to see Manitou Springs again because it’s very hard to beat a team 3 times in one season. Colorado Springs Christian comes into this game at 22-2 with one loss coming to Lamar and the other coming to Fruita Monument (5A) sweet 16. For any team to beat CSCS they will have to play at an extremely high level of play but it’s State Tournament time every team left can elevate to a high level of play. Colorado Springs Christian is led by sophomore forward Megan Engesser 17.3 ppg and 5.4 rpg and also sophomore Rachel Ingram 13.8 ppg. This CSCS team is very young which could hurt them against some of the more experience teams.
- I think a one of the many factors in this game will be experience and Manitou Springs has the upper hand here. The only problem is CSCS has played top talent so nothing will shock them here. CSCS will get challenged again by Manitou Springs but I think that CSCS has to much fire power and will win this game.
#2 Centauri vs #10 Liberty Common @ 11:45am on 3/9
- #10 Liberty Common comes in finishing second in the Patriot League tournament. They entered The state tournament as a 10 seed due to the way the seeding was or they would have been seeded much high as it’s with most of the teams in the Elite 8. Liberty Common went 21-3 this year. They lost twice to Sterling and once to St. Mary’s by 19. Liberty Common will be looking to prove they belong in the Final 4 but will be heavily tested. Their journey to the Elite 8 starts with a 60-35 win over Trinidad and then beating Delta 53-29. Both of those wins were over good teams. Liberty Common is searching for that signature win their best win of the season was over Eaton. Liberty Common is led by senior forward Hally Miklos averaging 22.4 ppg and 10.9 rpg also helping with scoring is senior guard Hannah Kohl averaging 10.2 ppg. Besides them two there is no other scores over 10 ppg. Miklos will need to either get 20 in their first round game or even 25 to give them a shot at the upset.
- #2 Centauri enters the Elite 8 on a good hot streak. Since February they beat Monte Vista twice and Pagosa Springs twice both of which made the tournament and Pagosa Springs made the Elite 8. Centauri enters the Elite 8 at 22-1. Their one loss of the season was to #3 Lamar by 10. They do have quality wins on Olathe and Swink (Elite 8 2A). Centauri is a junior loaded team and is well coached and have taken top players out of games before. Centauri has the height and athleticism to beat some of the top teams in 3A. Centauri is led by junior Center Ember Canty scoring 11.3 ppg and 10.0 rpg and helping out is sophomore Melissa Wilson averaging 9.9 ppg. Centauri is not a big scoring team but play excellent pressure defense and have 5 scorers over 5 ppg. Also Centauri is loaded with talented Juniors and Sophomores so really look out for this team next year.
- Centauri will have to deal with one big time scorer but have shown they can usually contain one player and I believe that will be the case here. I am going with Centauri to advance to the Final 4 with a 7 point victory over Liberty Common
#3 Lamar vs #11 Pagosa Springs @ 8:45am on 3/9
- #11 Pagosa Springs plays Lamar in an extremely early game at 8:45 in the morning. Pagosa Springs finished second in the IML tournament losing to Centauri 53-42. They were able to get refocused quickly and showed that they are a top team. They beat St. Mary’s Academy 47-18 in the first round then beat #6 seeded Moffat County 37-24 to advance to the Elite 8. Pagosa Springs record is 18-4 with 3 losses to Centauri and another loss to St. Mary’s. They have a couple pretty good wins as well beating Manitou Springs, Olathe, and Durango (4A). Pagosa Springs is also a pretty young team with one senior starter but the rest of their team is young and very talented. Pagosa Springs will need to play its best game of the season though to beat a very talented Lamar team. Pagosa Springs is led by junior forward Morgan Lewis averaging 19.9 ppg and 10.0 rpg. They will need to get her some help if they plan on upsetting Lamar.
- #3 Lamar finished second in the Tri Peaks tournament falling to #4 Colorado Springs Christian 37-31. They quickly bounced back though and made quick work of the first and second round opponents. They beat University 42-20 in the first round and beat Kent Denver by 27 points in the second round. Lamar enters the Elite 8 with a 22-2 record. They have losses to Colorado Springs Christian and St. Mary’s which they avenged in the League tournament. Lamar has a ton of good wins and will be looking to build of that momentum for the Elite 8. They will be facing a Pagosa Springs team that relys heavily on one player but if you get caught up stopping her they can do damage with their two good shooters. Lamar is led by freshman center Cali Clark 16.1 ppg and 10.9 rpg she will probably be guarded and guarding the big man from Pagosa Springs Morgan Lewis. Also helping out Lamar is senior forward Brenna Vallejos 10.2 ppg.
- Pagosa Springs is a perennial team into the playoffs to playoff experience is a plus for them. They though are suspectable to consistency issues. If they can get their team to play consistent they can pull the upset in round 1. Lamar has played consistent basketball all year and might be improving as the year progresses. They will need players around Cali Clark to step up if they want to win a state championship. I am going with Lamar to win this game by 10 points and advance to the Final 4.
Playoff Predictions
Final 4
#1 Sterling over #4 Colorado Springs Christian
- All I can say about this game is be ready for probably the best game of the entire tournament. This I think will be for the state championship and the winner I think will grab the title. I am picking Sterling to win!
#3 Lamar over #2 Centauri
- This game will come down to the wire and I think Lamar has better shooters and they will win this game either by 1 or 2 or in overtime. Centauri will be back next year ready to take the next step but Lamar wins this game.
3rd Place Game
#4 Colorado Springs Christian over #2 Centauri
- Playing back to back Tri Peaks team won’t be easy and honestly this game will come down to which teams wants it more and I honestly think this could be a preview of next year’s state championship game. Both are young squads and returning a ton of talent.
State Championship
#1 Sterling over #3 Lamar
- Sterling has the experience on a younger Lamar team. Sterling has been playing consistent basketball and that is what you need in the playoffs and I am picking them to finish the perfect run for a state championship.
MileHigh Prep Report 