Post Preps Insider is your daily source for news, story lines, top games and more information on Colorado high school sports — brought to you by Denver Post preps editor Kyle Newman.
Horizon girls basketball can surely be beaten — the Hawks, like an array of other elite Class 5A teams, are good but not invincible.
Yet no one in Colorado has been able to pinpoint Horizon’s kryptonite just yet, as the lone loss this season for the No. 7 Hawks (15-1) came in the championship game of their bracket at the Nike Tournament of Champions in December.
The Hawks are paced by three scorers averaging double digits, as junior point guard Alyssa Jimenez (17.3), junior forward Samantha Deem (14.2) and senior guard Izzy Allen (14.1) lead the team’s defense of the Front Range League title.
Inside, the combination of the 6-foot-0 Deem and 6-foot-5 junior center Arielle Wisne (Indiana University commit) has been lethal for opponents, especially in conjunction with the shooting and passing abilities of Jimenez and Allen.
Horizon’s won its six conference games thus far by an average margin of 38.8 points, an indication that the Hawks are going to have to work especially hard in practice in order to be best prepared to surpass last season’s Great 8 loss to Regis Jesuit.
The program has one state title to its credit, a 1993 Class 6A championship win over Doherty, and is led by second-year head coach Dan Doehler. Horizon is ranked third in the latest CHSAA RPI.
The Hawks are in action next at Legacy on Friday, and face a postseason readiness test on Feb. 6 when they play at No. 2 Grandview in non-conference action.
