Class 2A Girls Basketball Weekly Preview
We move into the first full week after Christmas break and we have big games on the menu this week. Since we are still early in the season, we will just preview the big games in Class 2A and once we move closer to playoff basketball, we will switch back into playoff basketball mode. (Rankings used are MileHigh Prep Reports Rankings)
Tuesday
Tuesday had some big games on the schedule with many having big impacts towards league standings and RPI standings. The main event from Tuesday had to be #1 Burlington vs #10 Wray. Wray was able to pull off the upset defeating Burlington 61 to 55. Free throw shooting was a big key to the game and Wray grabs their biggest win of the season. Another big contest from Tuesday was Haxtun defeating Holyoke 50 to 37. This was a key matchup in the Lower Platte League. A few other games to mention from Tuesday are Cheraw (1A) defeating Crowley County 28 to 21, Denver Christian defeating Lyons 45 to 33, and La Veta over Custer County 43 to 40.
Wednesday
Wednesday schedule is very lack luster with just 1 game to mention. West Grand makes the trip to Highlands Ranch to face 3A SkyView Academy. West Grand enters at 3-4 and they kicked off 2023 falling to Hayden 52-41. West Grand will look for a key win against SkyView Academy and hope for big games from Sage Wheatly (13.1 ppg) and Sage Lechman (9.0 ppg). Skyview Academy is 3-2 to start the year and will be playing their first game of 2023. SkyView Academy will be looking for momentum heading into league play. SkyView Academy will look to their top two scorers to lead the way Dakota Garrick (16.0 ppg) and Ekko Hopkins (15.8 ppg).
Thursday
Thursday features 6 games in Class 2A. A few mix 2A vs 1A games including Akron vs Briggsdale (1A), Cotopaxi vs Centennial (1A), Holly vs Granada (1A), and Denver Christian vs Longmont Christian (1A). All those games will be featured in Kerry Sherman 1A preview coming out later today.
The only true 2A game is Denver Christian traveling to face Longmont Christian. Denver Christian will be heavily favored against Longmont Christian. Denver Christian is 5-2 to start the season and they opened 2023 with a win over Lyons 45-33. Denver Christian will look to gain some key momentum heading into a big weekend matchup. Denver Christian is led in scoring by Kamiree Fuller (13.2 ppg) and Anna Everett (10.0 ppg). Longmont Christian is off to a rough start at 0-8 and scoring has been the main problem for them this season. Longmont Christian is averaging just 11 ppg and they will look to get things going in the right direction this week.
Friday
Friday features 26 games and the schedule really picks up on Friday. Any 1A vs 2A key games will be featured in Kerry Sherman 1A preview. Friday is loaded with multiple top 10 matchups and if there was a day to sit and watch a game Friday is the day!
In my opinion the biggest game Friday is #2 Merino hosting #4 Wiggins. Talk about a great night of basketball with both the boy and girls’ teams both being ranked. Merino enters the matchup at 6-1 and their lone loss comes to #1 1A Flatirons Academy. Merino has started 2023 with a pair of wins over Wray and Lyons. Merino and Wiggins did meet before break with Merino getting the 45-35 win. Wiggins enters the matchup at 6-2 with their losses to 3A Peyton and Merino. Wiggins has won three straight games including a key win over Sedgwick County to end 2022. Wiggins will be looking for revenge and will look for big from Ralyn Koenig (10.6 ppg), Riley Hunt (9.1 ppg), and Kennedy Kerr (9.1 ppg).
We stay in the Lower Platte League with another top 10 matchup! #3 Akron will host #10 Wray. Akron enters the matchup at 5-2 overall and their losses are to Merino and Burlington. Akron got 2023 going with a big win over Sedgwick County 33 to 27. Akron has a monster matchup Thursday against 1A #2 Briggsdale before this Wray matchup the next night. Akron leans heavily on Addi Kessinger (23.6 ppg & 15.3 RPG) but have also had good contribution from Kinsey Grauer (10.6 ppg) and Addi Weis (6.1 ppg). Wray will be entering the matchup at 5-3 and with key momentum with their upset of #1 Burlington. Wray will have rest on their side and could be very important in this game. Wray is led by Larissa Salmans (13.9 ppg) but also have 4 other players averaging over 6 ppg. Sydnee Cheek (7.7) and Johanna Anderson (6.1 & 7.0 rpg) seem to be the next leaders for this Junior heavy team.
We wrap up Lower Platte League play with another great matchup. Caliche hits the road to face #6 Sedgwick County. Caliche enters the matchup at 5-2 and are playing well in their first season in 2A. Caliche will be looking for their biggest win of the season if they can upset Sedgwick County. Caliche will turn to Karsyn Huss (22.6 ppg) to have a huge game but also need good secondary scoring from Ava Hernandez (8.9 ppg). Sedgwick County enters the matchup at 4-3 and are on a 3-game losing steak all to top 10 teams in Akron (2x) and Wiggins. Sedgwick County will look to get off the slide and get some momentum in 2023. Abigail Dille (13.9 ppg) and Jensen Renquist (10.4 ppg) are the two players that must step up this week but also the depth of Sedgwick County must continue to improve.
We move out of the Lower Platte League down to Simla for a good non-league matchup between #1 Burlington and Simla. Burlington will be looking to bounce back after falling to Wray on Tuesday night. Burlington will be tested by a tough Simla team that is much better than their record indicates. I think for Burlington to get going again they will look to Kiyarra Williams (21.5 ppg) and Trinitee Holmes (14.3 ppg) to be leaders but also look for a third option in Reagan Simpson (8.0 ppg) to contribute big. Simla enters the matchup at 4-5 but have played a very tough schedule including loses to Wiggins, Limon, Merino, Peyton, and McClave all 5 losses are to top 10 teams. Simla did get back into the win column defeating Byers on Tuesday. Simla will be looking for their biggest win of the season if they can upset Burlington. Simla will turn to Kylie Maranville (13.3 ppg) to be a leader but also look to Ryann Eurich (7.3 ppg) and Katie Gotschall (6.9 ppg) to be good secondary scorers.
We move west now for a big non-league battle between #8 Sanford and #9 Mancos. Mancos will have homecourt advantage against Sanford and this is a great test for both teams. Mancos enters at 6-1 and are on a 5-game winning streak. Mancos best win so far is over 3A Ignacio. Mancos will be looking for another key win over Sanford and will turn to Claire Goodwin (17.3 ppg) and Quincy Montoya (14.1 ppg). Sanford is 4-4 on the season and have played a tough schedule. Their four losses are to Ignacio, Flatirons Academy, Centauri, and Alamosa. Sanford will be looking for their best win of the season as well if they can beat Mancos. Sanford will turn to Makenzie Reynolds (11.4 ppg), Alyssa Edgar (7.8 ppg), and Shasta Bond (6.8 ppg) to get them going in 2023.
We now jump over to the Santa Fe League with a key league matchup between Hoehne and Fowler. Hoehne enters at 7-1 overall and 2-0 in league play. Hoehne lone loss comes to Heritage Christian and in 2023 Hoehne is 1-0 defeating Swallows Charter 77-18. Hoehne will look to gain a upper hand in league play if they can defeat Fowler. Hoehne has 7 players scoring over 5 ppg but are led by Ronni San Roman (10.8 ppg), Janae Ramos (9.4 ppg), and Kaylah Crosson (9.4 ppg). Fowler enters the matchup at 6-3 overall and winners of 5 straight. Fowler is lacking a quality win and they could notch that if they beat Hoehne. Fowler is led in scoring by Alyssa Maestas (11.7 ppg) but also get good secondary scoring from Jordan Bates (7.6 ppg) and Jaslyn Bates (7.3 ppg).
We move back west to the San Luis Valley and jump into Southern Peak league play. Del Norte will hit the road to face rival Center. Del Norte enters at 4-3 overall and are trending in the right direction winning 4 straight games including wins over Pine Bluffs WY, Pueblo East, and Sangre De Cristo. Del Norte will look to start 1-0 in league play and must get big minutes from Kelci Madrid and Abigail Rivera. Center enters the matchup at 5-4 overall and are trending the opposite direction losing two straight games to Rocky Ford (by 6) and Peyton (by 45). Center will look to snap the skid and grab a huge league win. Center will turn to Alicia Rios (18.2 ppg) to be the leader but must also have big minutes from Ximena Miranda (7.1 ppg) and Alexia Badachi (4.3 ppg).
We head back west to the Western Slope League and a matchup between Rangely and Plateau Valley. Plateau Valley enters the matchup at 4-2 and already have a win over Rangely 47 to 39. Plateau Valley will look to move to 2-0 in league play and gain an upper hand in the league standings. Plateau Valley will continue to lean on Emmaline Ealey (10.7 ppg) and Caley Shifflett (10.5 ppg) to be leaders. Rangely will be looking for revenge and to improve on their 6-3 record. Rangely also is 1-0 in league play with a win over Soroco. Rangely must have a big game from Ryann Mergelman (11.8 ppg) and Miah Wren (10.4 ppg) but also must get secondary scoring from Ashlynn Ducey (7.1 ppg).
A few other games to mention for Friday are SkyView Academy (3-2) at Gilpin County (4-2), Evangelical Christian (5-2) at CS School (2-1), Lyons (3-5) at Heritage Christian (3-3), Limon (4-1) at Flagler (3-4), and Swink (2-7) at Crowley County (5-4).
Saturday
Saturday also features a jam-packed session with 23 games. Saturday may have the volume of games but lack the big 2A matchups. A few big 1A vs 2A games are Genoa-Hugo at #2 Merino, Caliche at Otis, Idalia at #4 Wiggins, and Evangelical Christian at #1 1A Flatirons Academy.
We kick things off in the Santa Fe League when a pair of rival’s clash. Rocky Ford makes the trip down highway 50 to face Fowler. Rocky Ford has moved into 3A and found some success with a record of 4-5. Rocky Ford stays in the Santa Fe league for league play and will look to take a big step towards the league title. Fowler will have a huge clash Friday night against Hoehne and must bounce back regardless of the outcome. This will be a big game for both teams.
#10 Wray will move out of league play for the second to last time this season when they host Denver Christian. Wray will be coming off a tough battle Friday Night in Akron. Wray will have to bounce back and get ready for a very important non-league matchup. Denver Christian does not have a game Friday and will have a day to rest before their critical non-league battle. Denver Christian will be looking for key momentum before moving back into league play on 1/19.
We move back to the San Luis Valley with a non-league but a District Tournament Clash between Cotopaxi and Del Norte. Del Norte will face Center the night before and will be tested in that game. Del Norte will need big games from their stars against Cotopaxi. Cotopaxi moved into Class 2A this season and are 5-1 on the year. Cotopaxi won’t play a game Friday night but will be tested Thursday by Centennial. Cotopaxi is in search of their best win of the season as their schedule has been lack luster to start the year with their best win coming over 1A Lone Star. Cotopaxi will look for Hayden Eggleston (11.5 ppg) to be the leader but also must have good scoring from Eden Merrill (6.3 ppg).
We wrap things up Saturday with a non-league matchup between #5 Limon and Elbert. Limon enters the matchup at 4-1 overall but do play a game Friday night against Flagler. Limon has played 3 games in 2023 but have not been tested so far. Limon has 5 players scoring over 8.0 ppg and are led by Paige Hutsell (13.0 ppg), Katellyn Tacha (9.5 ppg), and Jentri Marx (9.3 ppg). Elbert is 3-3 overall with a mixed bag of results. Elbert did pick up their first win of 2023 defeating Pikes Peak Christian Monday. Elbert will be looking for their best win of the season if they can upset Limon.
Some other games to note for Saturday are Calhan (1-6) at Burlington (5-2), Dolores Huerta (3-4) at Byers (1-5), Escalante NM (9-5) at Sanford (4-4), Hayden (4-4) at North Park (1-4), and Center (5-4) at Las Animas (2-4).
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