CLASS 2A GIRLS BASKETBALL REPORT
BY: KERRY SHERMAN
Only two weekends remain until basketball begins the regional round, and it looks nine teams are in the hunt to play host in 2A girls. Eight will earn the honor. Here’s a look at the top 16 teams in the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index as of Thursday morning.
#1 MERINO (18-1)
The Lady Rams are the top seed in next week’s LPAA/Union Pacific crossover tournament, and they know they will open with a quarterfinal game against Limon next Wednesday. Before they get there, the Lady Rams will close out LPAA play at #10 Holyoke on Friday. Merino takes a four-game winning streak into that contest after picking up victories over #7 Akron (61-28) and Otis (56-23) last weekend. Delaney Piel had a game-high 19 points against Otis.
#2 SIMLA (19-0)
Simla has already knocked out two games this week, beating 1A #8 Caliche 62-31 on Monday, and Elbert 88-19 on Tuesday. Five Lady Cubs scored double figures against Elbert, led by Katie Gotschall and Carlee Cox with 14 apiece. Haylee Easler finished with 13, while Shayne Easler and Kinlee Cox had 12 and 11, respectively. The Lady Cubs wrap up the week at #16 Burlington on Friday, and at home against Holyoke on Saturday.
#3 SANFORD (18-1)
Sanford pushed its winning streak to six last weekend, as the Lady Mustangs took down #15 Center 49-21, and #12 Del Norte 45-24. Brinlyn Smith led Sanford in the first of those two with 11 points, and the junior went for a dozen in the latter. Sanford hosts 4A #16 Pagosa Springs on Friday.
#4 SARGENT (16-2)
The Lady Farmers collected three wins last weekend, running their streak to four by beating Dolores (56-31), Custer County (65-32), and Trinidad (65-32). Angelise Garcia put up a career-high 31 points against Trinidad, and Kandace Pargin added 21. Sargent goes to Crested Butte on Friday.
#5 SEDGWICK COUNTY (12-6)
The last two weeks have been a bit of a struggle for the Lady Cougars, who are just 2-3 over their last five games. After picking up a 65-34 win over Holyoke on Friday, Sedgwick County fell to Burlington 49-44 at home. Lainee Nein had a double-double of 25 points and 12 rebounds in the league win over the Lady Dragons, and she stuffed the stat sheet in the loss with 29 points, eight rebounds, seven steals, and five blocked shots. The Lady Cougars will wrap up LPAA play on Friday at home with Haxtun, and will be the #2 seed for the LPAA/Union Pacific crossover tourney, opening with Haxtun in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
#6 PLATEAU VALLEY (16-3)
Plateau Valley notched its sixth straight win earlier in the week, when the Cowgirls defeated De Beque 53-12 on Tuesday. It was the third time in the winning streak that an opponent failed to score 20 points. The Cowgirls go to 1A #4 Nucla on Saturday.
#7 AKRON (10-9)
Following last week’s loss at Merino, the Lady Rams suffered a second straight defeat, falling 50-47 in overtime on Tuesday at 3A #14 Wray in LPAA play. Molly O’Neil had a double-double of 13 points and 14 rebounds in the loss to Merino. The Lady Rams host Caliche on Thursday, and will be the #3 seed for the LPAA/UP crossover next week. They will host #14 Byers next Wednesday.
#8 HERITAGE CHRISTIAN (14-4)
Heritage Christian has already locked up the regular season title in the Mile High, but the Lady Eagles can complete a perfect run through the league with a win over Belleview Christian on Thursday. If they get that win, it would be their fourth consecutive victory. After a loss to Sedgwick County last Tuesday, the Lady Eagles picked up wins over Loveland Classical (49-35), Front Range Christian (60-13), and Estes Park (60-40). Following the game with Belleview Christian, Heritage Christian will travel to Byers on Saturday.
#9 RANGELEY (12-4)
The Lady Panthers have been dominant in their two-game winning streak, allowing a total of 30 points to Vail Christian (77-22) and West Grand (65-8). Aubrey Yates went for 21 points in the first of those two games, and Aubrianna Tapia added a double-double of 14 points and 11 boards. Rangely is unbeaten in Western Slope play, and can lock up the league title with a win at Caprock Academy on Thursday. The Lady Panthers also travel to Grand Valley on Saturday.
#10 HOLYOKE (11-7)
Holyoke heads into the weekend on a two-game slide, the most recent of which came last Friday to Sedgwick County, 65-34. The Lady Dragons trailed that one 20-2 after one quarter. They have one of the toughest weekends possible, hosting top-ranked Merino on Friday, and visiting #2 Simla on Saturday. They are the #4 seed in the upcoming LPAA/UP crossover tournament, and will host Burlington next Wednesday.
#11 SWINK (13-6)
Following a lopsided loss to the #1 team in 1A, McClave, last Tuesday, Swink bounced back to beat Cheyenne Wells 42-36 on Saturday, and the Lady Lions made it two straight with a 55-38 victory at Rocky Ford on Tuesday. They got 25 points from Taylor Mendenhall in that win. Swink goes to the Cotopaxi tournament this weekend, and will face the hosts on Friday.
#12 DEL NORTE (10-7)
Del Norte rebounded from its 45-24 loss at Sanford last Friday with a 50-27 victory at South Park on Saturday. The Lady Tigers will spend Saturday in Hoehne.
#13 CALHAN (16-5)
Calhan rolls into the weekend on a five-game winning streak, with two coming this week. The Lady Bulldogs took care of The Colorado Springs School 48-7 on Tuesday, and baked that up with a 57-28 win over Dayspring Christian on Wednesday. They go to Miami-Yoder on Thursday.
#14 BYERS (10-9)
Byers moved into fourth place in the Union Pacific with wins over Limon (60-42) on Friday, and Genoa-Hugo/Karval (51-36) on Tuesday. Taiya Eymann hit six three-pointers and tallied 19 points in the win on Tuesday. The Lady Bulldogs host Heritage Christian on Saturday, and will go to Akron next Wednesday for a quarterfinal contest in the LPAA/UP crossover.
#15 CENTER (12-6)
The Lady Vikings struggled to put points on the board in their match-up with Sanford last Thursday, falling 49-21. No one scored more than five points in the defeat. They have home games with Hoehne on Thursday, and Mancos on Saturday.
#16 BURLINGTON (9-8)
Burlington played its tenth and 11th games this season that were decided by single digits last weekend, falling to 1A #5 Stratton 67-61 in OT on Friday, and then beating Sedgwick County 49-44 on Saturday. Lynzee Neal heated up, scoring team-highs of 17 and 18 points in the two wins. The Lady Cougars wrap up Union Pacific league play at Deer Trail on Thursday, and then face a brutal weekend at home against Simla and McClave over the weekend.
MileHigh Prep Report 