CLASS 1A GIRLS BASKETBALL DAILY DIGEST – FEB. 20TH by Kerry Sherman

CLASS 1A GIRLS BASKETBALL DAILY DIGEST – FEB. 20TH

BY: KERRY SHERMAN

Two of the eight districts have already played quarterfinal round games, and five others will take care of that round tonight. One will have semifinals tonight.

DISTRICT TWO (ALL GAMES AT LAMAR COMMUNITY BUILDING)

McClave is the top seed and the Lady Cards have earned a bye into Thursday’s semifinals. They will meet up with the winner of #4 Kit Carson and #5 Granada.

Kit Carson beat Granada 51-28 a month ago, getting 23 points and five steals from Payge Booker-Rady and another 12 points from Avery Johnson. Mariah Sigala had nine points and six boards for the Lady Bobcats in the loss.

Eads drew the #2 seed and will face #7 Wiley in one of the quarterfinals in the bottom half of the bracket. The Lady Eagles took the regular season match-up less than three weeks ago, 48-18. Their outstanding freshman Anna Wollert tallied 12 points and five rebounds, while Alessandra Paez and Lexi Shotton both scored eight points. Wiley did not post any stats from the contest.

The other semifinal in that half of the bracket has #3 Cheyenne Wells hooking up with #6 Cheraw. The Lady Tigers won a thriller against Cheraw a month ago, 39-31. Aliyah Muth recorded 14 points and four steals for Cheyenne Wells, and Paige Ryser added 11 points, five rebounds, five assists, and five steals. Delaney Bond posted a double-double for the Lady Wolverines in the loss, racking up 11 points and 14 rebounds.

DISTRICT THREE

Third-seeded Kim/Branson picked up a 41-22 quarterfinal victory over #6 Walsh on Monday night and will advance to Wednesday’s semifinal against #2 Springfield, who had a bye. La Veta, the #4 seed, outscored #5 Primero 29-22 in the second half to earn a 51-45 win. The Lady Redhawks will face #1 South Baca in the semifinals on Wednesday.

DISTRICT FOUR (ALL GAMES AT NORTHEASTERN JUNIOR COLLEGE)

With only five teams in the bracket, the top three seeds automatically advanced to the semifinals. The only quarterfinal game pits #4 Weldon Valley against #5 Peetz. Those two just played last Friday, with Weldon Valley claiming a 57-42 victory. Annie Onufrak recorded a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Lady Warriors, and Haylee Nelson grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. Freshman Jaidynn Reiman had 25 points for Peetz to lead all scorers.

The winner of tonight’s contest will meet #1 Briggsdale in the semifinals on Thursday. The other semifinal will have #2 Fleming squaring off with #3 Prairie.

DISTRICT FIVE (GAMES AT STRATTON AND IDALIA)

The top two seeds will host quarterfinal contests, with #1 Stratton and #2 Idalia having earned the right to be at home. Stratton plays #8 Bethune in the second game on its court, with #4 Arickaree and #5 Otis opening the night. Idalia and #7 Lone Star will follow #3 Hi-Plains and #6 Flagler.

Stratton and Bethune did not meet during the regular season. The Lady Eagles have won nine of the last 10 against Bethune, the most recent coming in last year’s quarterfinal round, 70-15. Sedonia Isenbart, who leads Stratton at 19.1 points a game, had 13 in that game on six of nine shooting. Madilyn Powell had five for Bethune. Peyton Ruhs, who now plays for the Lady Eagles, also had five points for Bethune.

Until the final days of the regular season, it looked as if Arickaree would be the #3 seed, but the Lady Bison were passed by Hi-Plains and has to get past #5 Otis to reach the semifinals in Brush on Friday. Otis got 10 points and eight rebounds from freshman Lydia Willeke, and nine points from Alli Hornung in a 38-34 win at Arickaree just about three weeks ago. Raeya Schrock and Ja’Niya Smith combined for 27 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 steals for the Lady Bison.

Just over a month ago, Idalia beat #7 Lone Star 64-29, and about the only thing that went wrong was the Lady Wolves losing Ailyn Monarrez for the season to a knee injury. Jaylyn Kechter put up 28 points and eight rebounds for Idalia, and Krista Wieser added 10 points and eight boards. Paityn Forry and Peytyn Kuntz both scored 10 for the Lady Longhorns.

The early game in Idalia has two banged up squads looking to advance to the semifinals on Friday. Hi-Plains is missing Jessica Sayles, and Cloe Smith has missed time down the stretch, while Flagler saw KaCee Jo Saffer and Jaylie Stone both go down a few weeks ago. Hi-Plains outscored the Lady Panthers 16-12 in the fourth quarter three weeks ago to bag a 57-53 victory. Smith was a big factor in that win, registering 15 points and eight steals. Stone led all scorers with 26 points.

DISTRICT SIX

Top-seeded Sangre de Cristo earned a bye into Friday’s semifinals and will meet either #4 Centennial or #5 Lake City. The better seed in each of the three quarterfinals will host.

Lake City outscored the Lady Rams 15-6 in the second half of their game a month ago, earning the Lady Fourteeners a 26-23 victory. Kadance Simmons led Lake City with a triple-double of 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 blocks. Jasmin Salcido had a double-double of 12 rebounds and 12 steals for Centennial.

Creede is seeded second and the Lady Miners host #7 Antonito. The Lady Miners already own three wins this season over the Lady Trojans. Lila Fairchild went for 23 points and eight rebounds, and seven steals in a 58-14 win back in December, and topped that with a triple-double (35 points, 10 rebounds, 13 steals) in last month’s 61-41 victory. Less than three weeks ago, she went for 41 points, eight rebounds, and six blocks, as Creede won 68-40. Destanaya Quintana had double-doubles for Antonito in the last two losses, 12 points and 15 rebounds last month, and 13 points with 15 rebounds earlier this month.

The bracket wraps up with #3 Sierra Grande hosting #6 Moffat. The Lady Panthers got 18 points from Alexia Gonzalez and a double-double of 16 points and 11 steals from Jaylyn Quezada in a 45-11 win three weeks ago. Sequoia Sirois (12) and Kadence McWilliams (11) combined for 23 rebounds for Moffat.

The scene shifts to Centauri High School for semifinals and finals this weekend.

DISTRICT SEVEN

Higher seeds will host the quarterfinal games on Tuesday, with top-seeded Kiowa earning a bye into the semifinals. The Lady Indians await either #4 Pikes Peak Christian or #5 Deer Trail. Those two met clear back in the first weekend of the season, with Deer Trail pulling out a 20-14 victory. Megan Donovan flirted with a quadruple-double, finishing with eight points, 11 rebounds, nine steals, and seven blocks. Ally Hardwick pulled down a game-high 18 boards. Megan Ferguson had five points, eight rebounds, and five steals for Pikes Peak Christian.

Last Tuesday, #3 Hanover took a 46-34 victory over #6 Miami-Yoder, with the Lady Hornets outscoring the Lady Buffs 29-16 in the second half. Lavana Sweazy led a trio of Hanover players in double figures with 20 points, while Aspen Combs and Val Diaz each scored 10. Kylie McKnight (11) and Carley Bringhurst (10) both reached double figures for Miami-Yoder.

Second-seeded Genoa-Hugo/Karval did not play #7 Cripple Creek-Victor in the regular season, and this will be the first meeting between the programs in the MaxPreps era. The Lady Pirates are led by Amy James in scoring (8.3 ppg), assists (2.6), and steals (1.7). Rylee May leads the Lady Pioneers at 8.5 points a game.

DISTRICT EIGHT

District eight is the first tournament to reach the semifinals. Top-seeded Flatirons Academy will host #4 Mile High Academy, who beat Denver Waldorf 42-31 in the quarterfinals. Flatirons Academy ran past the Lady Mustangs 70-22 two weeks ago, with Emma Cox scoring 28 and Emily Dehaan adding 20. Addie Dodds had eight for Mile High Academy.

Like Flatirons, #2 Rocky Mountain Lutheran had a quarterfinal bye. The Lady Eagles will host #3 Front Range Baptist, 39-11 winner over Belleview Christian in the quarters. Rocky Mountain Lutheran pulled away from a 20-14 halftime lead to beat the Lady Falcons 54-21 last Tuesday. Ginny Shade led all scorers with 20 points and the Lady Eagles also got 18 from Sophia Thiel. Front Range Baptist got 12 points from Katie Jacques.