Examining the Colorado 5A and 4A girls hoops tournaments

While most teams were compelled to take a look at the Class 5A girls basketball bracket it when it was unveiled Sunday, there was little intrigue about the four No. 1 seeds.

Continental League powers Highlands Ranch and ThunderRidge (Highlands Ranch) and Front Range stalwarts Broomfield and Monarch (Louisville) had set themselves apart for quite some time and occupied the top four spots in the rankings for most the season.

The question now is: Can anyone knock off one of these powers before the final four?

"The four number one seeds set themselves apart the entire season," said Lakewood coach Chris Poisson, whose Tigers earned a No. 2 seed. "They no doubt earned and deserved the top four seeds. To have one of them get upset is not impossible, but will be difficult for anyone to accomplish.

"For the rest of the field, any team who gets the opportunity to play a number one team will have to be able to win in a variety of ways and play tremendously."

The 4A bracket boasts its own impressive corps of No. 1s, lead by unbeaten Canon City. But that 32-team field appears a little more wide open than 5A's 48-team bracket, which gets underway Tuesday night. Here's a glance at each region in the two largest classifications.

Class 5A

Alice Barron Region
Top seed: Highlands Ranch (19-4).
Bracket buster: No. 5 Castle View (Castle Rock). Although the Sabercats didn't fare well against top seeds Highlands Ranch and ThunderRidge, they went 8-2 in the talent-rich Continental League. They'd like nothing more than another crack at Highlands Ranch.
Bracket notes: Molly Rohrer of No. 2 Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) and Courtney Smith of No. 4 Legacy (Broomfield) each average double-doubles. Tori Catlett of No. 3 Grand Junction is close. . . . Conspicuous at the No. 6 seed is Regis Jesuit (Aurora), the two-time defending champ. The Raiders (12-11) are led by senior guard Jess Lewis.

Kaye Garms Region
Top seed: ThunderRidge (21-2).
Bracket buster: No. 4 Westminster. The Wolves (17-6) dominated one of 5A's lesser leagues and haven't played many of 5A's top teams. That could work to their advantage in that they are somewhat mysterious. Not implying Westminster could upset, say, ThunderRidge, but they are worth keeping an eye on.
Bracket notes: No. 5 Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch) is battle-tested after finishing 7-3 in the Continental League. … The region also features No. 6 Poudre (Fort Collins), which was a final-four participant last year. The Impalas (11-12) were hit hard by graduation. … No. 7 Horizon (Thornton) undoubtedly would have been more of a threat if not for losing center Alyssa Rader (17.6 points, 12.2 rebounds) to injury in late Jan. . . . No. 2 Rampart (Colorado Springs) has two of the state's top 18 scorers in Cassidy Budge and Nicea Eliely.

Rhonda Blanford-Green Region
Top seed: Broomfield (21-2).
Bracket buster: No. 5 Loveland. The Indians (16-7) played Monarch, a No. 1 seed, close until the final minutes and were a solid 8-4 in the Front Range League. Sophomore Tatum Rembao is one of the state's up-and-coming scorers.
Bracket notes: No. 2 Lakewood lost to Ralston Valley (Arvada) by 28 points early in the year, then beat the Mustangs by 29 in the second meeting to win the Jeffco League tiebreaker after each team finished 13-1. . . . Michaela Onyenwere of No. 3 Grandview (Aurora) remains a firm player-of-the-year candidate with averages of 22.7 points and 10.7 rebounds.

Sharon Wilch Region
Top seed: Monarch (21-2).
Bracket buster: No. 4 Fossil Ridge (Fort Collins). The 5A runner-up last season still has plenty in the tank with seniors Brooke Pemberton and Kellee Willer. The Sabercats (17-6) enter the tournament with six straight wins.
Bracket notes: Jennah Knafelc of No. 2 Arapahoe (Centennial) averages 20.8 points a game. The Warriors (19-4) have two wins against Cherry Creek and one against Grandview to their credit. Denver East's Jonnae Richardson has been a terror for the No. 3 Angels (20-3), averaging 19.2 points and 12.5 rebounds.

Class 4A

Tanya Haave Region
Top seed: Canon City (23-0)
Bracket buster: No. 6 Longmont. The Trojans (17-6) and junior center Sydney Wetterstrom are a legitimate threat. Look no further than Feb. 7, when the Trojans upset title-contender Holy Family (Broomfield), which went on to earn a No. 1 seed.
Bracket notes: Keep an eye on No. 2 Pueblo South (17-6), which won it all in 2013 and remains a tough out. Third-seeded Evergreen (17-6) and junior Sam Kisiel also have had a stellar season.

Tracy Hill Region
Top seed: Pueblo West (19-4).
Bracket buster: No. 4 Durango. Like third-seeded Mullen (Denver), the Demons (17-6) played in a hybrid league with 5A teams, so they won't be intimidated by upper-echelon competition. Senior Katie Wiegert and sophomore Katrina Chandler lead the scoring attack.
Bracket notes: Pueblo West earned the No. 1 seed by winning its final 11 games, including a clean 10-0 sweep of the South Central League. . . . No. 2 Palisade (21-2) carries a 19-game winning streak into the postseason. Fourteen of those wins are by double digits.

Carol Callan Region
Top seed: D'Evelyn (Denver) (18-5).
Bracket buster: No. 4 Silver Creek (Longmont). The Raptors (17-6) were in contention for a No. 2 seed and host site until dropping their final two games to Thompson Valley (Loveland) and Longmont. But this is a talented group with post players such as Jordan Carter and Teagan Knechtel who can run the floor.
Bracket notes: Don't count out No. 5 Mesa Ridge (Colorado Springs), which won it all last year with a perfect 28-0 campaign. The finest player, center Kylee Shook, is back from that team. The Grizzlies begin with a rematch against Silver Creek, a nonleague game the Raptors won 46-37 on Jan. 31. . . . No. 2 Sand Creek (Colorado Springs) features a top-notch scorer in Oliana Squires and No. 3 Mead (Longmont) one of the state's most dead-eye perimeter shooters in Rylee Ward.

Donald Wilson Region
Top seed: Holy Family (19-4).
Bracket buster: No. 4 Weld Central (Keenesburg). The Rebels have won 17 straight entering the tournament and are something of an unknown. This is a squad that truly has developed cohesion as the season has progressed.
Bracket notes: No. 2 Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch) essentially is No. 1 seed material. The Eagles' narrow loss to D'Evelyn that decided the Jeffco League title came with standout Caroline Bryan sidelined. The senior returned this week. . . . Top-seeded Holy Family didn't regress in its first season in 4A. The Tigers won six of the past seven championships in 3A. . . . No. 3 Thompson Valley went 11-3 in a challenging Northern League and won a three-way tiebreaker for first place.