Heavy hitters ready to clash in Colorado 5A, 4A and 3A girls basketball

While large-scale upsets in Class 5A girls basketball are virtually nonexistent, that is hardly the case in 4A. One season after upsetting their way to the final four, the Longmont Trojans were on the opposite end this time.

The Trojans earned a top seed this season, but lost to Widefield (Colorado Springs) in the first round.

To be clear, just because the 5A bracket played mostly to form doesn't mean the tournament is a yawner. It means all the heavy hitters are alive as the deeper rounds draw nearer. Here is a look at what to watch for this week in the 5A, 4A and 3A brackets, the latter of which begins its postseason Friday.

Class 5A
We mentioned that this bracket mostly held to form. How much so? Well, entering Tuesday night's Sweet 16 round, all the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds remain in play, as do three of the No. 3s and two of the No. 4s. The only teams from outside the top four still alive are Fairview (Boulder) and Dakota Ridge (Littleton), a pair of No. 5s who pulled off mild upsets over No. 4s, and No. 6 Arapahoe (Centennial), which ousted No. 3 Fossil Ridge (Fort Collins).

While all the No. 1 seeds remain heavy favorites – Grandview (Aurora), Lakewood, Broomfield and Highlands Ranch – three No. 2 vs. 3 matchups are on tap for the round-of-16 and contain much less certainty. Here is a quick look at each:

In the Kaye Garms Region, No. 2 Poudre (Fort Collins) will welcome No. 3 Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) to its home floor in a matchup of teams riding a six-game winnings streak. In Poudre's six wins, the Impalas (19-5) have held their opponent under the 30-point barrier four times and only one reached the 40s. Cherry Creek (18-6), meanwhile, is averaging 62 points a game during its win streak as junior Laura Pranger has come alive.

In the Rhonda Blanford-Green Region, No. 2 Ralston Valley (Arvada) will take on No. 3 Doherty (Colorado Springs). Ralston Valley (21-3) and do-it-all guard Ashley Van Sickle will be a solid favorite at home as winners of 11 of its past 12. The Mustangs' lone losses this season are to Nos. 1 and 2 seeds (ThunderRidge (Highlands Ranch), Lakewood and Broomfield). Doherty center Aubriana Noti averages a double-double and the Spartans (18-6) will be no pushover.

In the Sharon Wilch Region, No. 2 Horizon (Thornton) will oppose No. 3 Pine Creek (Colorado Springs) in a battle of two of the hottest teams in the second half of the season. Horizon (19-5) knocked off the Eagles in a low-scoring 39-24 affair in December, but that's before Pine Creek (20-4) caught its groove. The Eagles have gone 17-1 after the break and are poised to give the Hawks a much better effort than the first time. Horizon's Kylie Jimenez is one of the top guards in the state and averages 18.2 points a game.

Class 4A
This classification has already whittled down to eight teams, and other than the Longmont upset, things essentially held to form in the bracket. The Tanya Haave Region will be the only region without a No. 1 seed in Friday's quarterfinals, as No. 2 Evergreen will take on No. 4 D'Evelyn (Denver). The latter edged Widefield 68-61 after the Gladiators' 45-38 upset of Longmont.

The Evergreen-D'Evelyn matchup will mark the third of the season between the Jeffco League rivals. Evergreen (22-3) and standout Samantha Kisiel won each of the first two, triumphing 56-51 and 56-48. D'Evelyn (16-9) has been a regular in the deep rounds the past several seasons.

The only other lower seed still remaining is No. 3 Mullen (Denver), which upset No. 2 Palisade and now will take on defending champion and top-seeded Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch) in the Tracy Hill Region. Valor has won 24 straight since an opening loss to 5A Fossil Ridge.

The remaining two semifinals feature No. 1 vs. 2 matchups, with top-seeded Mesa Ridge (Colorado Springs) opposing No. 2 Holy Family (Broomfield) in the Donald Wilson Region. Mesa Ridge's Kylee Shook, bound for Louisville, became the state's career blocks and rebounding leader during the regular season. Top-seeded Sand Creek (Colorado Springs) will take on No. 2 Pueblo East in the Carol Callan Region after the latter nipped Montrose 51-50 in the Sweet 16.

Class 3A
Things haven't shifted much at the top from last season, when Pagosa Springs nipped Sterling in the championship game. Pagosa Springs still hasn't lost, and was the clear No. 1 seed after compiling a 47-0 mark over the past two seasons and 72-1 record over the past three.

Sterling (21-1) checks in at No. 2 and would like nothing more than another crack at the Pirates. The Tigers' lone loss this season was a 46-43 decision to Eaton, a Reds squad that enters the bracket at No. 6.

Other top-flight contenders include No. 3 Manitou Springs (21-1), which was perfect until a one-point loss to St. Mary's (Colorado Springs) in the Tri-Peaks League District Tournament, No. 4 Moffat County (Craig) (19-3) and No. 5 Lutheran (Parker) (18-4). Of note, Lutheran and senior Kristen Vigil come in winners of a dozen straight.

Coming off the upset of Manitou Springs, St. Mary's checks in at No. 7.