Wild Card points help determine the postseason fields in 3A, 4A and 5A, with 4A and 5A also using them for seeding. Find a more detailed breakdown here.
Baseball’s Wild Card point standings for April 17 are below.
Wild Card points help determine the postseason fields in 3A, 4A and 5A, with 4A and 5A also using them for seeding. Find a more detailed breakdown here.
Baseball’s Wild Card point standings for April 9 are below.
Regis Jesuit’s Diani Akigbogun is the 5A girls basketball player of the year. (Ray Chen/arrayphoto.com)
The 2013-14 all-state girls basketball teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These teams were created following a lengthy process which included nominations from leagues and coaches, and then a vote of coaches.
The players who received the most votes in their classification were selected as the player of the year in their class.
Those players of the year: Regis Jesuit’s Diani Akigbogun (5A), Mesa Ridge’s Gabby Purnell (4A), Holy Family’s Katie Chavez (3A), Akron’s Jordan Baer (2A) and South Baca’s Allyson Grahn (1A).
Use the menu below to navigate to the class of your choosing.
Wild Card points help determine the postseason fields in 3A, 4A and 5A, with 4A and 5A also using them for seeding. Find a more detailed breakdown here.
Baseball’s Wild Card point standings for April 2 are below.
BOULDER — Mesa Ridge made history Saturday afternoon at the Coors Event Center in Boulder.
A 45-41 victory for the Grizzlies over Broomfield in the Class 4A girls basketball championship game gave the Colorado Springs school its first team state championship in school history. It was also the first time Mesa Ridge even played in a state title game in any sport.
“Our girls made quite a statement here today,” said Mesa Ridge coach Jeff Beatty, who sported an all-purple suit on the sideline for the Grizzlies. “You can come in once and take care of business. All the hard work they put in paid off.”
Defense was the driving factor in Mesa Ridge upsetting the favored Eagles. Broomfield shot just 15-for-53 (28.3 percent) from the field and also struggled at the free-throw line making just 8 of 19.
Broomfield’s defense actually kept the Eagles in the game. Mesa Ridge was forced into 22 turnovers, including 14 in the first half.
“We’ve never had 22 turnovers before, but we overcame that,” Mesa Ridge senior Samantha Rudd said. “We made up for that with our defense. Defense wins championship and we played great defense today.”
Rudd was able to jumpstart the Grizzlies’ struggling offense in the third quarter. The 6-foot-1 senior scored 11 points in the span of four minutes during the third quarter.
After locked in a 14-14 tie at halftime, Mesa Ridge’s run opened up a 31-22 lead with two minutes to go in the third quarter.
“I had to come out and help my team. I wasn’t doing anything,” said Rudd, who finished with 11 points and fouled out late in the fourth quarter. “We are a second-half team and we came out and played like we always do in the second half. It was great.”
After losing in the 4A semifinals last season in overtime to eventual champion Pueblo South, the Eagles refused to fold against Mesa Ridge. Broomfield tied the game at 33-33 with 2:50 left in the fourth quarter on a 3-point play by sophomore Brenna Chase.
However, Mesa Ridge broke Broomfield’s full-court press on back-to-back possessions. Layups by sophomore Kylee Shook and senior Tiffani Jackson put the Grizzlies up for good.
“They were so focused on trying trap us there way no safety,” Mesa Ridge senior Gabby Purnell said. “We just threw the ball deep and finished.”
Another breakaway layup by Purnell with 43 seconds left put the Grizzlies up 41-35. Mesa Ridge made 4-of-6 free throws in the final seconds to keep Broomfield at bay.
“It was a very good team win,” Beatty said. “To do it defensively and share the ball the way we did is even more special for them.”
Shook led all scores with 14 points and also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. The 6-foot-4 sophomore atoned for Thursday’s semifinal game where she was just 1-for-7 shooting for two points.
“These last few games she (Shook) hasn’t come out as strong as she usually does, but today she showed us she was ready to play and came out strong,” Rudd said. “She really helped us get going in the beginning.”
Shook had eight points in the first half and altered several Broomfield shots on the defensive end.
“Shook had a sophomore-type game Thursday night,” Beatty said. “Tonight she came out and flat out took care of business.”
After dominating Class 4A by winning five straight 4A hoops titles from 2007 to 2011, Broomfield had to settle for a runner-up finish.
“I don’t think we choked or anything like that,” Broomfield coach Mike Croell said. “We had good looks at the basket. A couple of those shots — can’t believe they didn’t stay down. Very, very frustrating.”
The Eagles will elevate to the 5A classification next basketball season and play in the Front Range League.
“It was just one of those nights were we ran into a very, very tough team that played great defense,” Croell said. “They had a great game plan. We picked a bad night to go cold (shooting).”
Broomfield junior Callie Kaiser was the lone Eagle to reach double-digit points with 10. Senior Bri Wilbur and junior Nichole Lehrer each scored nine in the first loss of the season for the Eagles (27-1 record).
Mesa Ridge (28-0) completed its undefeated season.
“That’s what happens when you have two teams undefeated,” Croell said. “Unfortunately, one team is going to go home not happy.”
Mesa Ridge senior Tiffani Jackson’s layup at the buzzer Thursday at the Coors Event Center in Boulder gave the Grizzlies a dramatic 40-38 victory over the defending Class 4A state champion Pueblo South Colts.
“I knew we only had five seconds,” Jackson said when asked if she knew how much time was on the clock with the game tied at 38. “I figured I had about two seconds when I got the ball. I just went straight in.”
The spectacular final play started when Mesa Ridge’s 6-foot-4 sophomore Kylee Shook blocked Pueblo South junior Sissy Hall’s shot from under the basket. Shook struggled offensively with just two points on 1-of-7 shooting, but her nine rebounds and final block were key.
“No matter what else she (Shook) does she can play defense,” Mesa Ridge coach Jeff Beatty said. “If she wasn’t the defender she is I would probably sub a kid like that out, but she does so much on the defensive end for us. She affects so many shots.”
After Shook’s block, senior Samantha Rudd grabbed the loose ball for the Grizzlies and fed it ahead to senior Gabby Purnell. Purnell, who finished with a team-high 12 points, stumbled as she crossed midcourt, but was able to feed a pass to Jackson near the free-throw line.
Jackson released the uncontested shot just before the buzzer sounded and the layup kept Mesa Ridge perfect on the season with a 27-0 record heading into the title game.
“It was so great, especially since (Pueblo South) beat us last year in the Great 8,” Rudd said. “We are so excited.”
Pueblo South (24-3) was attempting to punch its second straight ticket to the championship game to defend its title.
The first half was a struggle for the Colts. Not only did Mesa Ridge’s defense hold Pueblo South to 4-for-24 shooting in the opening half, but also senior Shannon Patterson picked up her third foul midway through the second quarter. The Grizzlies led 20-13 at halftime.
“We hit enough free throws down the stretch maybe and kept (Pueblo South’s) scoring down enough to overcome our lack of scoring today,” Beatty said. “We play fairly good defense ourselves. We pride ourselves on that.”
Mesa Ridge’s trio of seniors — Rudd, Jackson and Purnell — all finished in double-digit points, combining for 33 of the Grizzlies’ 40 points. The Grizzlies were 14-for-20 from the free-throw line and held the Colts to 25 percent shooting from the field.
“Our defense has been phenomenal this year,” Rudd said. “That is what has taken us to the championship game on Saturday.”
Mesa Ridge plays in the 4A championship game scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, March 13, at the Coors Events Center in Boulder. The Grizzlies will face the winner of Valor Christian/Broomfield.
Mesa Ridge defeated Valor Christian by a point earlier in the season and scrimmaged Broomfield this year.
“It’s going to be a good game regardless of who we play,” Rudd said.
Patterson’s 14 points led Pueblo South. The senior was in foul trouble the whole game. Patterson picked up her fourth foul with 2:41 left in the third quarter, but never fouled out despite playing the entire fourth quarter.
“I know she (Patterson) has signed at Pueblo (CSU-Pueblo), but I think she could play D-1 if she wanted to,” Beatty said. “She is one of the best players in the state, regardless of classification. She has been special forever.”
Pueblo South senior Kendra Jesik finished with 11 points and junior Jaylyn Duran pitched in eight points for the Colts.
More photos. (Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com)
DENVER — Gabby Purnell is the Peyton Manning of Mesa Ridge girls basketball.
The 5-foot-5 senior point guard controls games and runs the show. Purnell worked a masterpiece against D’Evelyn in the Great 8 at the Denver Coliseum with a 9-of-11 shooting performance for 22 points as Mesa Ridge girls beat the Jaguars 47-41.
Purnell is a quick player with great ballhandling skills. She controlled the pace of the game and led a strong Grizzlies effort throughout.
“Gabby Purnell is a coach on the floor,” Mesa Ridge coach Jeff Beatty said about his point guard. “I very, very rarely call any plays. Gabby calls everything. She does it all on the floor for me. I’ll change up defenses and such, but she pretty much calls the offense out there and runs the show and gets the ball to the open player. She’s extraordinary. I can’t believe there aren’t D-I’s beating my door down to get her.”
Mesa Ridge looked like they were going to blowout D’Evelyn out in the third as they had a commanding 45-26 lead, but the Jaguars’ Malia Shappell led a furious late run. Shappell scored 11 second half points and 17 overall, but it wasn’t enough as the Grizzlies held on.
Mesa Ridge’s 6-foot-4 sophomore Kylee Shook only scored four points, but grabbed 10 rebounds and was a defensive presence. She was injured and out for last year’s Great 8 loss to Pueblo South, the eventual champion.
“Last year we made the final 8 and lost and that hurt us a little bit,” Beatty said. “They’ve really come together and they really share the ball. Our defense was really good today.”
D’Evelyn finished 21-5 after being the state runner-ups the past two seasons.
Mesa Ridge will play the winner of Pueblo South vs. Elizabeth in the Final Four in Boulder. The Grizzlies are now 26-0 this season.
