Class 2A Girls Basketball Weekly Preview Week 7
We enter the third week of January and things feel still very unpredictable especially in Class 2A. We have had a few times rise to form and somewhat separate themselves but plenty of unpredictability remains. This week we will also release are first look at Regionals with a Regional Projection and I possibly will give my thoughts on who the top 16 teams are seeding wise for Regionals. (Rankings used are MileHigh Prep Reports Rankings)
Tuesday
Tuesday had some big games on the schedule but mother nature had other plans with snow impacting most parts of the state. Most of the big games on Tuesday were cancelled and postponed. The biggest games Tuesday were Nucla over Ridgway 49-29, Wiggins over Prairie 53-27, and Crowley County over Las Animas 38-21.
Wednesday
Wednesday schedule is very lack luster with just 1 game to mention. Union Colony Prep (2-6) will travel to face Lyons (4-6). Both teams currently sit under .500 so this could be that make-or-break game for these teams. Both currently are way back in the seeding index so a win could help their cause towards regionals.
Thursday
Thursday features 16 games in Class 2A. A few mix 2A vs 1A games including Akron at Fleming, Cotopaxi at Springfield, CS School at Kiowa, and Elbert at Deer Trail. Some those games will be featured in Kerry Sherman 1A preview coming out later today.
The main event Thursday Night must be Limon at Evangelical Christian. This will be a very telling game for both teams and looking forward to this game. Limon enters the contest at 6-1 and their best win so far this season is over Simla back in early December. Limon will be looking for another quality win and they can achieve that with a win. Limon is led by Jentri Marx (12.1 ppg) but also have 4 other girls scoring over 7 ppg in Katellyn Tacha (8.7), Paige Hutsell (8.4), Jazzy Rosler (7.3), and Brynlyn Owens (7.1). Evangelical Christian enters the contest at 6-3 overall and they had their 4 game winning streak snapped by #1 1A Flatirons Academy 70-16. ECA will be looking to bounce back and grab their best win of the season. Elana Sutton (12.0 ppg) and Sarah Caldwell (11.5 ppg) must play there best games of the season.
#7 Dayspring Christian takes a quick trip out of league play to face 4A Jefferson Academy. Dayspring Christian sits at 6-2 on the season with both losses coming to top 5 2A teams. Dayspring Christian will be looking for another quality win and a win over 4A Jefferson Academy would be that win. Aliya McClanahan (15.8 ppg) continues to be the leader but Faith Hayward (10.9 ppg) and Ebi Omofoma (10.5) are key to Dayspring Christian getting the win. 4A Jefferson Academy sits at 8-4 overall and also are looking for a quality win on the season. Jefferson Academy is led by 4 starters all scoring over 7 ppg. Rylin Chichirico (9.2), Helen Stegner (9.1), Allie Jo Kirkpatrick (8.8), and Elasa Nygren (7.3) are all going to need to have big games to grab a quality win.
A pair of league games inside the Southern Peaks League is how we will wrap up Thursdays games. Crested Butte will make the trip into the San Luis Valley to face Center. 3A Crested Butte sits at 5-3 overall and are a bit of a surprise with a winning record. Crested Butte has played a very weak schedule and a win over Center could be their best win over the year. Center snapped a 3 game losing streak on Saturday defeating Las Animas 41-27. Center will look to gain so momentum heading into the meat of their league schedule. Alicia Rios (16.8 ppg) continues to lead the Vikings, but secondary scoring must continue to step up from Ximena Miranda, Alexia Badachi, and Ciara Paiz.
The Final SPL game features Sargent at Trinidad. Sargent sits at 4-4 and are on a 3-game winning streak. Sargent will be looking for their best win of the season if they can defeat Trinidad this Thursday. Sargent is a young team, so any momentum is good. Trinidad sits at 5-4 on the season and they snapped their two game losing streak defeating Centennial on Saturday 33-29. Trinidad will also be looking for their best win of the season if they can beat Sargent. I think this is a key game for both teams before they head deeper into the SPL schedule.
A few other games to mention for Thursday are Denver Christian (6-3) at 3A Machebeuf (5-5) and Simla (4-6) at Dolores Huerta (4-5).
Friday
Friday features 20 games and not a ton of big games on Friday. Any 1A vs 2A key games will be featured in Kerry Sherman 1A preview. Friday does feature some key league matchups and those are the main features.
In my opinion the biggest game Friday is #3 Akron traveling to face 3A #9 Yuma. This is a big rivalry game and should be a great game. Akron enters the contest at 6-3 and they bounced back from their previous loss by defeating Wray 50-41. Akron will face 1A Fleming Thursday night so a tough schedule for the Rams this week. Akron continues to be paced by Addi Kessinger (23.6 ppg) but for Akron to truly make a deep run Kinsey Grauer (10.2 ppg) and Addi Weis (5.4 ppg) must continue to improve. Yuma enters the contest at 6-2 and they are on a 6 game winning streak after opening with a pair of loses to start the year. In 2023 Yuma has key wins over Highland, Brush, and Haxtun. Yuma most continue to get big minutes from Lea Richardson (12.0 ppg) and Caddis Robinson (8.4 ppg).
We stay in the Lower Platte League for are next game as well. Haxtun will make the trip to face #6 Sedgwick County. Haxtun is 3-7 currently and they have had their ups and down to start 2023. They are 2-2 in 2023 and look to get over the .500 mark. Haxtun is led by Bobbi Starkebaum (12.4 ppg) and Cassidy Goddard (10.6 ppg) but behind them must continue to develop. Haxtun is in need of momentum and an upset could do just that. Sedgwick County is 5-3 on the season and they just snapped their 3 game losing streak defeating Caliche 59-25. Sedgwick County is now looking to get a run going. Sedgwick County continue to be led by Abigail Dille (14.5 ppg) and Jensen Renquist (11.6 ppg) but must continue to develop depth especially as the season goes on.
We now jump over to the Santa Fe League with a key league matchup between Hoehne and Crowley County. Hoehne is on the verge of being ranked in the top ten and sit with a record of 8-1. Hoehne only knock is their SOS which is not that great, and their best win is over Fowler and 4A Pagosa Springs. Hoehne will look to add a quality win to their bucket when they travel to face Crowley County and this should be a good test for both teams. Hoehne continues to be led by the 3-headed monster attack of Janae Ramos (9.8 ppg), Ronni San Roman (9.6 ppg), and Kaylah Crosson (9.0 ppg). Crowley County improved to 9-4 on the season and have won 4 straight games. Crowley County will be looking for their best win of the season if they can knock off Hoehne. Crowley County will need big games from Ashlyn Berg (6.3 ppg), Jude Meyer (6.0 ppg), and Mckinna Cuckow (5.6 ppg).
One final game to touch on is Center at Trinidad. We have talked about both teams earlier in the article and when they face each other Friday it could be a critical game to keep pace with the league leaders.
A few other games to mention for Friday are Merino (8-1) at Caliche (5-4) and Holyoke (2-8) at Wray (6-4).
Saturday
Saturday also features a jam-packed session with 21 games. Saturday has some key matchups across the board.. A few big 1A vs 2A games are Swink at McClave, Merino at Stratton, Haxtun at Otis, Deer Trail at Limon, and Flatirons Academy at Dayspring Christian.
We kick things off in the Southern Peaks League with a key matchup between #8 Sanford and Monte Vista. Sanford enters the matchup at 6-4 overall and they are on a 2 game winning streak with quality wins over Mancos and Escalante NM. Sanford seems to be improving weekly and will look to take a big step towards the league title against Monte Vista. Sanford is led by a pair of seniors in Mackenzie Reynolds (10.4 ppg) and Alyssa Edgar (10.0 ppg). Monte Vista enters with a 5-3 record and they are coming off back to back losses to Simla and Ignacio (OT). Monte Vista will look to right the ship against Sanford and try to beat Sanford for the first time in many years. Monte Vista will look for Lexi Marquez (8.7 ppg), Alyssa Ortega (7.7 ppg), and Zariah Archuleta (6.0 ppg) to be leaders.
We stay in the SPL with another interesting matchup between the Del Norte Tigers and the South Park burros. Del Norte enters the contest at 6-3 overall and winners of 6 straight games including quality wins over Pueblo East, Sangre De Cristo, Center, and Cotopaxi. Del Norte is playing their best basketball and should be fully healthy by the end of January. Del Norte continues to be led by Kelci Madrid (13.9 ppg) and Abigail Rivera (11.5 ppg). We do not know a ton about South Park which is why this is an important game. South Park enters at 3-1 on the season and their loss is to Mancos 42-25. South Park has played a weak schedule so we hope to learn more about them in their games against Pikes Peak Christian (Friday) and against Del Norte.
We go over La Veta Pass and into the Santa Fe League for another key game. Holly makes the trip west to Hoehne. Holly sits at 4-6 overall and they are looking to snap a 4 game losing streak. Holly will need their best games from Averee Davis (9.9 ppg) and Nadia Cerros (9.7 ppg) to try and pull the upset of Hoehne. Hoehne as mentioned above is 8-1 on the season and they play Crowley County Friday and this game Saturday both key games inside the Santa Fe League. Hoehne will be looking to take control of the Santa Fe League and can take a big step with a pair of wins.
We move north now for a key non-league battle between Heritage Christian and #2 Wiggins. Heritage Christian enters the contest at 6-3 overall and just outside the top 10. Heritage Christian is looking for that key win on their resume and a win over Wiggins would be that win. Heritage Christian would have to play their best game of the season to knock off the #2 team but they have shown glimpses with their win over Hoehne earlier this year. Wiggins sits at 8-3 overall and they have a brutal stretch of games upcoming. Friday, they face 1A #2 Briggsdale then this game Saturday, then Sedgwick County next week. Wiggins will be battle tested coming into the Heritage Christian game and will look to snag another key win. Wiggins continues to get great minutes from Raelyn Koenig (10.8 ppg), Kennedy Kerr (9.3 ppg), and Riley Hunt (8.8 ppg)
We move back south into the Black Forest League with a key matchup between Evangelical Christian and Elbert. ECA as mentioned above is 6-3 on the season and they face Limon Friday night. ECA will then face Elbert Saturday and is a very important game for the Black Forest league. ECA is currently 1-0 in league play. Elbert is 3-4 overall and they face Deer Trail Thursday in a non-league game. Elbert will kick off league play against ECA and a win could be the momentum they need. Elbert is led by Kim Hurd (11.5 ppg) but also get good minutes from Kaci Hudson (8.0 ppg).
We wrap things up Saturday with a Western Slope League battle. Hayden will host Plateau Valley in a key league matchup. Plateau Valley is 4-3 on the season and they are coming off a hard fought loss to Rangely last week. Plateau Valley will look to get things going in the right direction and to improve on their 1-1 record. Plateau Valley is led by Emmaline Ealey (10.7 ppg) and Caley Shiflett (10.5 ppg). Hayden enters the matchup at 5-4 overall and on a two game winning streak. Hayden will be looking to improve on their winning streak and stay undefeated inside the Western Slope League. Hayden has 3 players over 9 ppg and they must have big games to get by Plateau Valley. Bella Svoboda (12.0 ppg), Jenna Kleckler (10.6 ppg), and Tessa Booco (9.0 ppg) are going to be big for Hayden to make a run in the Western Slope League.
Some other games to note for Saturday are Byers (1-6) at Strasburg (4-4), Custer County (1-5) at Cotopaxi (6-3), and Vail Christian (3-4) at West Grand (4-4).
MileHigh Prep Report 