High-scoring Bay'lee Purdy leads Deer Trail into Colorado basketball playoffs

Her season scoring average is higher than anyone in the state, regardless of classification, but many wonder just how much stock to put into Bay'lee Purdy's otherworldly 29.9 scoring average.

The 5-foot-7 Deer Trail junior guard has racked up points in abundance, including a 51-point effort and a recent 42-point outing in a district playoff win against Elbert. The mind-boggling aspect about the latter effort was Purdy scored 42 of her team's 45.

Deer Trail, though, is a Class 1A school, which means a lot of the state's top talent either dismisses her or has never heard of her.

"It's not as tough as some people would think it would be," Purdy said. "I know everyone out here knows what I can do. I know a lot of people think, ‘Oh, small school, she can't play.' But there are good players at small schools, too."

Purdy's older sister, Tae'lor, is a sophomore at Regis University, which is said to be coming after Bay'lee as well.

"She's big in big games, so she's a lot like her sister," Deer Trail coach Aaron Dille said. "If she gets the right opportunity, she could play a ‘1' or a ‘2' in Division I in the right system."

Deer Trail plays a state-qualifying matchup Saturday at noon against Norwood at Limon High School. Of note, the 1A state tournament will be played at Colorado Mines in Golden this season rather than its customary spot at Northern Colorado in Greeley.

MaxPreps Colorado girls basketball playoff brackets

MONARCH AND MONTBELLO BUST BRACKET
Only two teams entering the 5A boys Sweet 16 were among those without a first-round bye. Monarch (Louisville), seeded seventh in the Ray Ball Region, knocked off No. 2 Palmer 73-58 on Saturday behind 28 points from Isaac Spence and will face No. 3 Lincoln (Denver).

Montbello (Denver) cracked the John Casey Region bracket as a No. 6 seed, upsetting No. 3 Overland 74-71 in overtime to earn a matchup with Fossil Ridge (Fort Collins). Azlan Williams scored 34 points and drilled eight three-pointers for the Warriors.

In 5A girls, meanwhile, the Front Range League demonstrated its power. The girls Sweet 16 round was played Tuesday, and four of the eight advancing teams hail from the Front Range. While Monarch (Louisville) and Legacy (Broomfield) were expected, the inclusions of Fairview (Boulder) and Fort Collins both are considered surprises.

MaxPreps Colorado boys basketball playoff brackets

WIZARDRY UPSET
While the 4A boys bracket held almost entirely to form, the lone mini-upset was one to raise an eyebrow. The top seven seeds of the 32-team bracket advanced, but No. 9 Windsor nipped No. 8 Sierra 38-37 in a Sweet 16 game.

That is significant, of course, because Sierra is the reigning 4A champ. The Wizards held Sierra to two points in the final quarter.

BROOMFIELD AIMS FOR FIVE
The Broomfield girls hoped to treat this season like one separate from their four-year title run, but the Eagles are finding it difficult to avoid thinking about the phrase "five-peat."

"You try not to worry about it but it's always there," Eagles forward Katie Nehf said. "Especially as a senior, you don't want to be that one group who can't finish. We try to focus on the next game, but it's always stuck in the back of your mind."

The Eagles are 4A's No. 2 seed behind Longmont entering Friday's round-of-eight at Colorado School of Mines.

"A lot of girls got a taste of it last year," Broomfield coach Mike Croell said. "I think once they settle down they know just to do the work. Play defense, shoot high-percentage shots. Just grind away on teams."

3A BRACKETS UNVEILED
The 3A classification starts its round of 32 a week later than the big schools, as first-round action will commence on Friday.

In boys, three-time defending champ Faith Christian (Arvada), led by guard Nathan Rindels, earned the top seed. At No. 3, Valley (Gilcrest) is the only public school to earn a top-four seed, joining No. 2 Colorado Springs Christian and No. 4 Bishop Machebeuf (Denver).

In girls, another three-time reigning champ captured the top seed in Holy Family (Broomfield) (21-1). Rifle and sharpshooting Cortney Cordova is No. 2, Pagosa Springs and excelling post Mary Brinton is No. 3 with The Classical Academy (Colorado Springs) at No. 4.

TOP PERFORMERS
* Dominic Williams, Abraham Lincoln (Denver): The senior forward scored 21 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and added a pair of blocked shots in the Lancers' 69-62 second-round win against Ralston Valley.

* Jeffrey Solarin, Rangeview: The senior was a terror in the low block in a 72-55 second-round win against Grandview, scoring 18 points while adding 17 boards.

* Alison Gorrell, Conifer: The future Wyoming Cowgirl scored all but 16 of the Lobos' points in a 52-48 win against Sand Creek in the Sweet 16. The 36 points were three off her season high.

* Jamie Katuna, Longmont: The player-of-the-year candidate racked up 42 points as the top-seeded Trojans thrashed Moffat County 88-47 in the Sweet 16.

Paul Willis is a regular sports freelancer for The Denver Post and covered high school, college and pro sports for the Rocky Mountain News from 2000-09. You can reach him at gdpdub@aol.com.