Hitting the road isn’t always a sign of impending doom when it comes to basketball playoffs. That certainly turned out to be the case for Pine Creek as it made its way west on I-70 for the first round of the Class 5A girls basketball state tournament.
The Eagles entered the tournament as the 39 seed, but it didn’t deter them as they left the western side of Colorado with a 29-26 win over Grand Junction Central. They’ll stay a little closer to home on Saturday when they head to Arvada to take on No. 7 Ralston Valley.
Pine Creek jumped out to a 20-8 lead at halftime but the offense quickly slowed down in the second half. Leah Redding knocked down a big 3-pointer for Central early in the fourth quarter to cut the Eagles’ lead to eight points.
Pine Creek made its way to the free throw line where Brynae Stewart made two and Jordyn Gutierrez made one to keep the game just out of Central’s reach.
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(22) Fairview 47, (43) Castle View 45
Fairview’s Izzy Munson led all scorers with 19 points as the Knights battled back from a five-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter. They’ll meet Denver South in the second round.
Leaya Mckinney and Alexa Barkeen each scored 11 for the Sabercats.
(37) Brighton 63, (28) Mountain Range 53
The Bulldogs were one of just three lower-seeded teams to get wins in the first round. Their win over Mountain Range puts them in the second round where they’ll travel to Fruita Monument.
(36) Arvada West 48, (29) Loveland 38
Arvada West’s first round win sets up a matchup with Grandview in the second round.
Other 5A scores:
- (32) Far Northeast Warriors 48, (33) Monarch 45
- (30) Liberty 48, (35) Greeley West 38
- (31) Horizon 60, (34) Eaglecrest 54
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Class 4A
No. 37 Longmont upsets No. 28 D’Evelyn in first-round thriller
Jordynn Lee scored 17 points to lead Longmont to a first-round upset win over D’Evelyn. The Trojans advance to the second round of the 4A tournament where they’ll see a familiar foe in Erie.
Longmont opened the season with a 56-42 loss to the Tigers and now get a chance at redemption.
Emmelia Ashton added 13 points in Longmont’s winning effort on Tuesday.
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(19) Skyview 39, (46) Coronado 36
Jordan Gonzales knocked down a big 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter as Skyline held off a persistent Coronado team. The Cougars trailed by one entering the fourth quarter but Fatinah Muhammed made two key buckets to put them up by five.
But the Wolverines battled back to avoid the upset and stay alive in tournament play.
(23) Palmer Ridge 38, (42) Pueblo East 36
Eden Bonser led all scorers with 17 points as the Bears grabbed a narrow win over the Eagles. They won’t travel far for their next game as they’ll take on league rival Air Academy on Friday.
Jaylene Escajeda led Pueblo East with 11 points.
(34) Littleton 58, (31) Denver West 44
Ava Youngblood-Yazzi and Jasmyn Thompson-Harvey each scored 12 points as the Lions were one of just two lower-seeded teams to get a win in Tuesday’s slate of games.
Other 4A scores:
- (30) Pueblo County 36, (35) Standley Lake 31
- (21) Lewis-Palmer 54, (44) Widefield 50
- (32) Centaurus 43, (33) Pueblo South 33
