December matchups kick off exciting start to Colorado high school girls basketball season

State champions will begin their quests to repeat while teams that were so close a year ago will look to reach those heights again, even if it means doing it without impactful seniors from a year ago.

But why look too far ahead.

There are (at least) 10 games across all classes that will have implications in early-season RPI standings as well as settling the table for who might meet again later in the season when playoff brackets are released.

Here are 10 girls basketball games that teams, fans and coaches should be paying attention to in the month of December.

* Doherty (Colorado Springs.) at Regis Jesuit (Aurora), 7 p.m., Dec. 3
The post-Fran Belibi era begins right away for Regis Jesuit as the Raiders host an always scrappy Doherty team. After making a run to the 5A Final 4 last year, Regis wants to complete its mission of bringing a championship trophy home. Even with no Belibi, there is plenty of talent to get that done. The guard play for the Raiders has been solid in recent years, and with both Avery Vansickle and Jada Moore back, that trend should continue. Junior Samantha Jones should also help replace the production Regis loses in the post.
The Spartans played much better than the 23-seed they were given in last year's state tournament. They lost their leading scorer in Brionna McBride, but have enough diversity in scoring this year to be a threat. Payton Sterk averaged 11 points per game as a freshman, while junior Makenzie Noll and Aujanae Latimer each averaged 7.2 points per game.

* Ralston Valley (Arvada) vs. Horizon (Thornton), 5:30 p.m., Dec. 13
A rematch from last year's Sweet 16, the Mustangs and Hawks should provide an entertaining early-season matchup. After losing a ton of scoring to graduation, 2019-20 will be a good measure of what Horizon has left and what kind of kids are coming through the program. Sophomore Audra Vine and senior Olivia Waufle return as the top scorers with just more than five points per game each. Those are also the only two players from last year's roster to play in more than 20 games. They might be young, but they've shown in recent years that their youth is certainly talented.
Junior Sydney Bevington leads a talented Ralston Valley team looking to get deeper into this year's 5A tournament. She nearly averaged a double-double last year with 12.1 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Sophomore Saya Sabus will also be a factor in the Mustangs' success after averaging 10.4 points per game in her first year of high school basketball.
* Pueblo West vs. Air Academy (US Air Force Academy), 8 p.m., Dec. 13
Both teams believe they have a score to settle heading into 2019-20. The Kadets advanced all the way to the 4A Final 4 because getting knocked out by Pueblo South – which was their first and only loss of the season – while the Cyclones had a chance to eliminate Mullen at home but came up short in a 49-45 game.
The Cyclones have their star point guard back as Hannah Simental wants to cap her career the same way big brother David did a few years back - with a state championship. She averaged 21,5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game, showing that she a is a solid all-around player. Fellow seniors Maya Sanchez and Shae Gallery will be big for the Cyclones title hopes as well.
Kylee Blacksten is hoping to build off her outstanding junior year in which she averaged 14.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game for Air Academy. Junior Annie Louthan will have big shoes to fill as the Kadets look to overcome graduation losses.

* Mullen (Denver) at Evergreen, 7 p.m., Dec. 12
Evergreen has every right to believe it belongs in the 4A championship conversation this year. After all, the Cougars lost 44-42 to Mullen a year ago, and it was the Mustangs hoisting state championship gold at the end of the year.  The problem, however, is that Mullen enters the year with the look of a team ready to defend its title. Junior Megan Pohs and sophomore Imani Perez were dominant in last year's state tournament and could be even better this year.
Evergreen lost former player of the year Claudia Dillon to graduation, but Hayley Dillon is back along with Nicole Levine giving the Cougars a solid core for the upcoming year.
* Alamosa at Delta, 6 p.m., Dec. 20
Both teams made the 3A Great 8 last season and are looking to build on their respective results. Alamosa ran into eventual state champion St. Mary's, while Delta lost a close one to Eaton.
Both teams return their leading scorers, as Delta brings back Sara Geddes (10.7 points per game) and a talented junior duo in Keely Porter and Alexa Huff.
Alamosa brings back Lilly Lavier (11.8) and also its own pair of standout juniors in Emily Lavier and Teresa Chavez, who put up strong numbers a year ago.

* St. Mary's (Colorado Springs) at Lutheran (Parker), 7 p.m., Dec. 17
Mike Burkett brings back several key players from his now back-to-back defending championship team. Josephine Howery, Seneca Hackley and Catherine Cummings are all seniors this season and together accounted for 43.5 points per game for the Pirates.
Lutheran was beaten by Pagosa Springs in last year's state tournament, but leading scorer Stephanie Schultz returns as a junior and has plenty of help in sophomores Kaitlin Kyle and Kallie Lemon.
These two met early last season and it was St. Mary's getting a 72-48 win.

Class 2A
* Wray at Yuma, 5:30 p.m., Dec. 7
These two teams opened the 2018-19 season against each other, and although it was Wray getting the 50-40 win, Yuma was the team to go on and win the 2A girls basketball title. This year it will be the same start as Saturday's game will mark the beginning of the season for each team.
Repeating is going to be a tough task for the Indians after losing both Cody Robinson and Chasey Blach to graduation. Reagan Nolin will be back as the team's leading returning scorer. She averaged 8.1 points per game to go with 1.6 assists and 1.4 steals. Ema Richardson comes back as a junior and will look to increase her production from 5.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game to keep Yuma in the championship picture.
Tabby Jones led Wray's scoring effort with 12.3 points per game. She also pulled down more than six rebounds each contest. She'll have Morgan Jones (4.2 points per game last year) around to help supplement the effort and try to start the Eagles' season off with an impactful win.

* Ignacio at Limon, 4 p.m., Dec. 7
Certainly no strangers to each other, Limon and Ignacio met early last season with the Badgers getting the win. They would go on to become the No. 1 seed in the 2A girls state tournament, but a first-round loss derailed their championship ambitions.
That's certainly to be on the mind of this year's senior class. Three of last year's top four scorers will be back in Limon to close out their high school careers. Toni Lopez (9.8 points per game, Sidney Hines (7.2) and Amy Weisensee surely still have a bad taste in their mouths after that loss and will likely come out of the gate strong with eyes on a state title.
Averaging just less than 27 points per game, Ignacio was dependent on its defense a year ago. But that doesn't mean they won't aim to put more points on the board this season. Makayla Howell, Jayden Brunson and Charlize Valedz were the team's leading scorers from last year and all are expected back to begin this season.
* Wiley at Kit Carson, 4 p.m., Dec. 13
There is no denying the athletic ability flowing through Kit Carson in recent years. On top of success in volleyball, the Wildcats enter the 2019-20 basketball season as the defending 1A champion. There are plenty of teams anxious to try and take the throne away from Kit Carson, but that's a task much easier said than done. One of the early challenges ahead is against Wiley, the very team that the Wildcats beat in the regional championship last year.
Kit Carson will be without Tess Hornung, who dominated that game with 24 points but has graduated. Reyna Isenbart is also back as is Cally Booker-Rady, to provide the Wildcats with some championship experience.
The Panthers are in a different situation. They may have scored only 27 points in the regional championship loss, but 17 of them came from now-junior Taira Weber and now-sophomore Demi Wollert. Macy Rowan is also back as a junior. She averaged 6.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last season.

* Briggsdale at Fleming, Dec. 20
These two teams had a chance to meet for the 1A championship last winter, but both fell in their respective semifinal games. Instead, they clashed for third place and Briggsdale got the 57-52 win in that contest. Now the teams clash early in the year as each one hopes to battle for a first-place trophy this time.
And with so much talent returning on both rosters, it's shaping up to be one of the best early-season matchups in the state, regardless of classification. Now sophomore Kylie Krise led the Falcons with 18 points in that third-place win over the Wildcats. Shelby Hoffman, a junior this year, added 14, giving Briggsdale a formidable scoring duo heading into the season.
Despite losing senior Jenna Lengfelder to graduation, Fleming returns a lot of talent from last year's team. Junior Kendyl Kirkwood led the team with 15.8 points per game. Like the Falcons, the Wildcats also have talented underclassmen coming back as sophomores Whitney Chintala and Zoey Vandenbark played key roles last year. This matchup might provide a big preview of a late-season showdown.