Manitou Springs, led by Shelby Megyeri, appears to be getting hot at the right time. The Mustangs scored an upset in the Tri-Peaks League tournament to propel them into the Class 3A state bracket. Manitou Springs finished state runner-up last season.
File photo by Matt Daniels
After reaching the state championship game last season, it appeared
Manitou Springs had fallen back to the pack this winter.
Not so fast.
The Mustangs might have recaptured their groove on the eve of the Class 3A girls basketball state tournament in an unlikely place: a third-place game. Now, third-place games are easy to ignore – particularly in a district tournament – but the Mustangs' performance in the Tri-Peaks League tourney shows they still mean business.
That's where they upended
St. Mary's (Colorado Springs) 49-47 in overtime – a St. Mary's team that entered the tournament 18-1. A St. Mary's team that had clobbered the Mustangs by 18 in January.
"We have played so many great teams this season and have just come up a bit short in many of those games," Manitou Springs coach Ed Longfield said. "It was exciting to see the girls play so hard and pull one out. I think that's the thing they will take from the St. Mary's victory."
The Mustangs (14-8), led by senior
Shelby Megyeri's 17.1 points a game, recaptured some of the swagger from a 25-2 run to the finals last season, where they lost to
Lutheran (Parker). As Longfield alluded to, this season had become a collection of near-misses against quality foes. A one-point loss to Discovery Canyon (Colorado Springs). A five-point loss to
Pagosa Springs. A three-point loss to top-ranked
Sterling. Three- and seven-point losses to
Colorado Springs Christian, including one in the district tournament.
Buoyed by the win against St. Mary's, the Mustangs landed the No. 12 seed in the 32-team bracket, which gets underway Friday. Their quadrant, hosted by No. 5
Faith Christian (Arvada), will be among the most compelling in the classification, particularly if the host Eagles (17-5) and Manitou Springs meet in the second round.
Manitou Springs will first take on No. 21
Brush (13-9), where the Mustangs will get a firm indication of how sustainable their current momentum is. Just don't ask them to emulate last season's squad.
"We have talked to the kids all season, from the first practice, that this team is completely unique," Longfield said. "Our goal is – and has been – to get these 12 kids to play the best that they can play. Last year's team is gone forever. We are believing in what this group of girls can accomplish, and it will be a great experience no matter what the final outcome is."
Other quadrants to keep tabs on include the one hosted by No. 8
Weld Central (Keenesburg). St. Mary's checks in at No. 9 in that one, and the Pirates will be a prime competitor to move on if they can recapture their groove. In addition, No. 2
Centauri (La Jara) has had a fantastic season and easily locked down the right to host, but don't count out defending-champion and No. 15 Lutheran in that one.
MaxPreps Colorado state and regional girls bracketsClass 2A The smallest two classifications play their regional rounds at neutral sites across the state this week, in which the winners from eight pods will advance to the state tournament.
Most notably, the possibility for a championship rematch of
Yuma and
Paonia remains (Yuma won 55-46 last season to capture the crown), as each earned a regional bye. That means they'll have to win only one game to return to state. Paonia (21-0) is 2A's lone unbeaten team.
Wray and
Swink, also state entrants last season, received byes as well. Additional teams with that luxury are
Simla,
Evangelical Christian (Colorado Springs),
Del Norte and
Ignacio. Swink and Del Norte enter on 18-game winning streaks.
Of note, Pod C will get interesting if Simla (18-4) and
Ellicott (Calhan) (18-4) meet in the championship. The teams split two games in the regular season, each game within five points.
Class 1AThis classification is something of an anomaly this season with two undefeated teams –
Antonito (22-0) and
Kit Carson (21-0) – and two others that have dropped only one game in
Fleming and
Heritage Christian (Fort Collins), which each check into regionals 21-1.
All four received byes in the first round and will need only one win to crack the state tournament.
Nucla,
Briggsdale,
Kim/Branson and
Kiowa earned the other top regional seeds.
Region 3 Bracket 3 appears the toughest on paper, as Kiowa (18-3) could take on
South Baca (17-3) in what would be a high-level final. In addition, Briggsdale (17-5) could have its hands full in Region 2 Bracket 3 with a potential showdown against
Jim Elliot Christian (Englewood) (18-4) looming in the final.
