While the Class 5A and 4A girls basketball tournaments began play last week, the smaller classifications were still working on getting their postseason fields finalized through district play. Now that 2A and 1A regional brackets have been released, along with the 3A state bracket, the entire basketball field in Colorado is officially in playoff mode.
Below is a glance at the top seeds in each of the three classifications, as well as a few other teams that are worth paying attention to for the next two weeks.
Class 3A // Brackets
Platte Valley (Kersey): Until someone gets the better of the Broncos, there is little doubt they are the favorite to win state, which would make it two in a row. They have sizeable wins over several 3A tournament teams, including two against
University (Greeley), which is the No. 2 team on the bracket.
Cora Schissler leads the team in scoring at 16.5 points per game.
Andi Schissler is the leading rebounder at 7.9.
Brooke Bunting leads the team in both assists (5.1) and steals (4.3), to make Platte Valley a dangerous team up and down the entire roster.
Juliana Garcia, The Vanguard
File photo by Derek Regensburger
The Bulldogs might be the team best suited to knock off Platte Valley despite the fact that the Broncos have already beaten them twice. They dropped games against
Eaton and
The Vanguard School (Colorado Springs) earlier in the season, but have played sound basketball since, even paying back Eaton with a 12-point win in the Patriot League district tournament.
Taryn Kravig's 14.5 points, 3.5 assists and 3.1 steals per game are all team highs, and she is clearly the engine that sets the tone on the court. Freshman
Addison Harding has made quite the name for herself as she averages 9.4 points and a team-high 7.4 rebounds per game.
University has reached only one state championship game in school history (1985) and has never won a state title.
The Vanguard School: Big wins like the one against University early in the season certainly helped Vanguard in the long run. The Coursers lost in the Tri Peaks League semifinals and had to rally late to beat Colorado Springs Christian in the third-place game. That helped them take the No. 3 seed in the state tournament. They made it to the semifinals as the No. 1 seed last year, but fell to Lutheran (Parker).
Juliana Garcia has been playing like a candidate for 3A player of the year as she scores 17.5 points and grabs 6.6 rebounds per game.
Hailey Blanchard adds 10.9 points and dishes out a team-high 5.7 assists per game.
OTHER TEAMS TO WATCHGrand Valley (Parachute): The Cardinals rattled off six straight wins to finish regular season and district play. They had four losses sprinkled throughout their schedule, but they're trending up heading into the postseason. Junior
Abbeyrose Parker has been good on both ends of the court and leads the team with 15.4 points and 3.8 steals per game.
Lamar: A gritty performance in the Tri Peaks League district tournament helped Lamar grab wins over The Vanguard and St. Mary's (Colorado Springs) to earn the right to host the first weekend. The team is playing its best basketball at the right time.
Abby Robbins leads Lamar in scoring at 13.1 points per game, and
Brooklyn Robbins is the leading rebounder at 9.6 per game.
Pagosa Springs: The Pirates have become a mainstay in the 3A tournament, only this time they got there with youth. Freshman
Elizabeth Currier leads the team with 10.7 points, 3.4 assists and 2.4 steals per game.
Class 2A // BracketsSanford: The only loss for Sanford this season is a tournament loss to Colorado Springs Christian, and it was by only four points. The team toppled every 2A team it saw this season, which makes it a considerable favorite to win its second girls basketball title in school history.
The Caldon sisters are the ones setting the tone for the team on the floor.
Asia Caldon leads the team in most statistical categories, including points (14.4 per game), rebounds (6.1), assists (3.3) and steals (2.6).
Cheyenne Caldon adds 11.7 points per game, and the two combined makeup for about 50 percent of the offensive output.
Trista Marx (25), Limon
File photo by Brent Murphy
The Dragons suffered their only loss shortly before the winter break but are now riding a 17-game winning streak heading into regionals. While most of the wins have been by double-digits, they did play defending state champion Limon to a five-point win. Holyoke was the No. 1 seed heading into last year's state tournament but fell to Wray in the quarterfinals, a feeling most returning players on the team surely remember.
Kristin Vieselmeyer and
Lauren Herman each average double-doubles, which makes it difficult for opponents to concentrate on one player defensively. Vieselmeyer averages 18.6 points and 11.4 rebounds, while Herman adds 12.1 and 10.8, respectively.
Limon: The defending champion comes in as the No. 3 seed of the tournament, which is fine considering they were seeded 10th last season. They dropped a game to Holyoke in January, but the only other loss they suffered was to Eaton, so they are ready to take on the 2A field.
Trista Marx leads the team in points (16.8 per game), rebounds (7.6) and steals (4.9) but has plenty of help around her.
Jordyn Tacha scores just 7.4 points per game, but isn't afraid to get physical and snag 6.8 rebounds.
Jentri Marx scores 9.7 points per game and also accounts for 3.6 steals.
OTHER TEAMS TO WATCHCedaredge: The Bruins have lost only to top-level teams and it could serve them well starting this week. The thing that will benefit them the most in tournament play is a heavy dose of senior leadership.
Paige McGovern leads the team with 11.9 points per game but the top five scorers overall are seniors.
Rye: There isn't a team in Colorado that has bested the Thunderbolts this season. Their 22-0 record shouldn't be ignored by any team still competing. Both
Sydney Adamson and
Sophie Adamson are averaging better 17 points and 5.1 assists.
Sedgwick County (Julesburg): The Cougars' win/loss record is a bit deceiving. Their losses were mostly in very competitive games that could've gone either way, and that includes a 58-52 loss to 1A No. 1 Briggsdale. They have three players averaging double figures with
Alison Woodhams leading the way with 12.2 points per game.
Class 1A // BracketsBriggsdale: With a perfect 21-0 record, the Falcons are considered one of the favorites to win the 1A state title. They have more than doubled their opponents' scoring output and have been just flat out dominant in the 2021-22 season.
Kylie Krise has put together a solid season, averaging 23.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. Her younger sister
Jenna Krise has been almost as good with 15.3 points per game. Jenna is the team's leader in assists as she dishes out 4.6 per game.
Briggsdale has reached the 1A championship game twice but has never won a state title.
McClave: The other top-seeded team in regionals, McClave has yet to be beaten by a Colorado team this season. The Cardinals edged Kit Carson 30-28 in the district championship game, which has been their closest game to date.
Senior
Anna Beckett has been stellar on both ends of the court as she averages 12.9 points and 5.3 steals, both of which are team highs.
Maggie Chase adds 10.2 points per game, and her 6.3 rebounds are tops on the team. McClave will lean on defense to make a state tournament run as they total 19.3 steals per game as a team.
Sangre de Cristo (Mosca): The Thunderbirds found their form after an early season loss to
Sargent (Monte Vista). They got tripped up by Sanford in overtime in January, but other than that have been impressive on the court on a regular basis.
It's all the more impressive considering they have just one player averaging double figures. But
Ashley Mortensen isn't just any player. She averages 12 points, 7.2 rebounds and 8.1 steals, all of which are team highs.
Peyton Metz and
Tymberlynn Rogers help on the scoring front as they both average just under 10 points per game.
Sangre de Cristo made it to the 1A quarterfinals last season, but fell to
Fleming. It's hoping to make a deeper tournament run this season.
OTHER TEAMS TO WATCHFlatirons Academy (Westminster): The defending 1A champs are still playing a high level of basketball this season. Their only two losses are to Briggsdale and
Lone Star (Otis), but they have looked solid otherwise.
Kenlee Durrill (above video) has been a big reason as she averages 20.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and seven assists per game.
Fleming: The Wildcats are still feeling the sting of losing the state championship game last season and are hoping for some vindication this year.
Whitney Chintala is every bit as good as advertised, as she scores 14.1 points, dishes out 3.3 assists and grabs 3.5 steals per game.
Merino: The Rams make an interesting case because they pushed Briggsdale to the limit in a district championship game. The 48-43 loss to the Falcons might just help the Rams play inspired basketball for the next two weekends.
Taysa Conger nearly averages a double-double for the team with 15.2 and 9.8 rebounds per game.
