Colorado Springs Christian (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Olathe (Olathe, Colo.) are the only undefeated teams as the Class 3A girls state basketball tournament gets underway Friday, but they probably aren’t considered the favorites.
Holy Family (Broomfield, Colo.) (21-1), seeded No. 2, is seeking to win its third consecutive title. The Tigers would like nothing better than a rematch against top-seeded Colorado Springs Christian (22-0), this time in a championship encounter. The Tigers suffered their only loss this season to the Lions. In that game, though, Holy Family was without its best player, Sarah Talamantes, in the lineup.
While Olathe (22-0), the No. 3 overall seed, has ruled the Western Slope, don’t rule out the prospects of fourth-seeded Pagosa Springs (Pagosa Springs, Colo.) (19-2). The Pirates, seeded No. 4, did not play as difficult a schedule as the top three teams during the regular season, but they did see top competition last summer. That has helped Pagosa Springs go undefeated against 3A teams this season.
The Pirates’ two losses came to 4A Montezuma-Cortez (Cortez, Colo.), both by two points, 63-61 in overtime, and 50-48 at the buzzer.
"They certainly could have gone either way," Pagosa Springs coach Wes Lewis said. "But this is a new season and there are a lot of good 3A teams out there, not just the four of us. We open with Aspen (8-14) and if we win, we would play either Buena Vista (15-7) or Rye (14-8). And I think both are better than their records."
Pagosa Springs got an early look at Buena Vista (Buena Vista, Colo.), beating the Demons 47-44 in their season opener, so Lewis has a good idea of what to expect. The Pirates rely on the 1-2 punch of 6-foot-1 Mary Brinton and 5-9 guard Breezy Bryant.
"The best thing about this pair is that they are juniors; the worst, they are juniors," Lewis said with a chuckle. "They are two great kids, very gifted and talented, that just love basketball. Yes, they are our 1-2 punch, but we've got good players around them."
Brinton is averaging 21.8 points and 11.4 rebounds. Bryant, scoring at an 11.9 clip, is second in rebounding (5.1) and also leads the Pirates in assists (3.5). Bryant's sister, Megan (5-10) is averaging 6.0 points, while Victoria Espinoza adds 5.1. The fifth starter is Sieanna Stretton (5-7), a defensive whiz.
"Our key is that we've worked so hard and we mesh together," said Breezy Bryant, who also averages 3.4 steals. "We're all very good friends and we are a team with no drama queens. Mary is tough underneath and she just seems to catch every ball we get into her and she puts them in the basket."
And, while Brinton is the strength player underneath, she has demonstrated that she can step outside the three-point arc and score.
Lewis also will have his eye on Class 1A's undefeated Kim, last year's state runner-up. The Mustangs are coached by his brother, Curt Lewis, and led in scoring by his niece, Danielle Lewis. Kim is the only unbeaten team in the classification.
Go beyond the records
In Class A boys, Cornerstone Christian Academy (Federal Heights, Colo.) enters regionals with a 10-10 mark. But the Bulldogs of coach Mario Lazoya won the District 8 championship, earning an automatic berth in the Sweet 16 after beating Shining Mountain (Boulder, Colo.) 57-53 in overtime Saturday.
With 3 seconds left in regulation Cornerstone Christian's Josh Mitchell drove through a stout Lions defense to score, tying it at 45-45. From there, the Bulldogs jumped to a 53-47 lead then held on to gain the win. The key for the Bulldogs is that they are finally healthy, and Mitchell has been a key to their late-season success.
"This is actually the first time we have been healthy this season," said Mitchell, who was double-teamed through much of the game. "It’s been hard for us to put things together against the best competition. It helps to have everyone back and we've kept it going in the playoffs."
It's a momentum Lazoya hopes to keep going.
"Give all the credit to the boys," Lazoya said. "I'll tell you, Josh Mitchell is an incredible player. He's the MVP on our team. Eight games ago he hurt his ankle and was out for about a month and a half. He is still playing hurt and that speaks a lot about his heart and what he means to the team."
Cornerstone Christian will meet either Hi-Plains or Elbert in the Sweet 16 on Saturday at Sterling High School.
Class 3A boys tip-ins: Faith Christian (Arvada, Colo.) (21-1), seeking to win its third consecutive 3A title, had to work its way through the district consolation bracket to earn its state berth. The Eagles were stunned last week in the first round of the Metro League tournament, but not on the basketball court. The Eagles had to forfeit their first-round game to the Crusaders, which they had won easily, after they had suited up too many players for the game. That pushed them to the consolation bracket, where they had to win two games to advance.
Faith Christian, led in scoring by Hayden Loudenslager (12.7 points), is the No. 1 seed in the tournament. The No. 2 seed goes to Aspen (23-0), led by Andrew Papenfus (15.0), and one of only two unbeaten teams in the field. The other is No. 3 seeded Jefferson Academy (22-0). Tom Olson leads the Jaguars in scoring (13.2).
Class 2A boys tip-ins: The classification will play its regional tournaments this week, with eight winners advancing to next week's state tournament. The Colorado Springs School boys (20-2), led by all-stater DeLovell Earls (21.3 points), is the defending boys champion, but the Kodiaks came out of their district as a No. 3 seed. They will have to beat two higher-seeded teams to advance to defend their title.
There are no undefeated boys teams remaining, so look for state runner-up Holyoke (20-2), behind leading scorer Kyle Carper (14.1 points), to make a strong push again. Also don't rule out Ignacio (19-2) and its leading scorer Alex Herrera (15.2).
Class 2A girls tip-ins: A new champion is assured as Wray failed to make it out of districts. State runner-up Paonia (20-1), led by Grayson Pipher (14.2 points) is favored to advance to the final eight, as are Sedgwick County (19-3), led by Makenzie Ault (15.5), and Merino (19-3), paced by Danielle Rinaldo (15.2).
Class A tip-ins: Defending boys champion Caliche (20-2) and girls champion McClave (21-1) are back in the Sweet 16. Kim, last year's runner-up in the girls tournament, is the lone unbeaten in the field with a 20-0 record. Otis (22-0), led by Jimmy McGrath (15.5 points), is the only unbeaten among the boys teams and is considered the favorite.
