The quarterfinals for the Colorado high school state basketball tournaments in Classes 5A and 4A begin with the girls playing Friday and the boys on Saturday. The Denver Post will be at the Denver Coliseum covering all of the 5A action this weekend and 5A and 4A next weekend in the semifinal and championship games. Live updates and scores (5A games will be updated after each quarter, 4A will be updated when the games end) and the schedule are posted below.
For results of the Class 3A state tournament, which begins Friday, visit the official bracket on CHSAANow.com. (, )
5A girls
FINAL: (6) Grandview 62, (3) Valor Christian 45
Alisha Davis sent a message Friday afternoon.
Grandview might only be the No. 6 seed in the Class 5A girls basketball state tournament, but you better not sleep on the defending state champs. From tip to buzzer at the Denver Coliseum, Davis and the Wolves had Valor Christian under control, upsetting the third-ranked Eagles, 62-45, in the quarterfinals.
It’s not easy to shut down Valor (23-3), which entered Friday riding a 15-game winning streak, but Davis was the primary reason why with her 20 points and 8 rebounds.
“That’s what I’m counting on from (Davis), she did an exceptional job,” Grandview coach Josh Ulitzky said.
Grandview was unable to contain Valor Christian’s 6-foot-2 freshman Raegan Beers (game-high 24 points, 10 rebounds) in the post, but she didn’t have enough support. The Wolves (22-4) had three players in double-figures and 24 points off turnovers.
Grandview will face Regis Jesuit in the 5A semifinals on March 7.
FINAL: (2) Regis Jesuit 68, (7) Horizon 37
The ‘Fran Show?’ Try the ‘Vansickle Files.’
The what now?
While Horizon was focused on containing Regis Jesuit’s Stanford-bound dunking sensation Fran Belibi on Friday, it was sophomore Avery Vansickle who put on a shooting display to propel the Raiders into the state semifinals.
Vansickle, a 5-10 guard, tied her career high in scoring with 25 points on 8 of 17 shooting from the field, including four 3-pointers, in the rout. Belibi, meanwhile, still managed 23 points on 14 rebounds and attempted 14 free throws; 12 of those came in the first half.
“Avery is such a perfected shooter in her form that when she gets going, it really opens things up for Fran,” Regis coach Carl Mattei said, “because then they have the inside-outside game. Avery got hot, and Fran was Fran, and our defense was special.”
Horizon (21-5) was outmatched from the start and lacked the speed or athleticism to match the Raiders (23-3). The Hawks turned the ball over 12 times and shot 27.3 percent from the floor. Sam Deem led them in scoring with 12 points.
FINAL: (1) Highlands Ranch 53, (9) Broomfield 23
Kasey Neubert had 16 points and 14 rebounds and Autumn Watts scored 14 in what became an easy quarterfinal win for the top-ranked Falcons on Friday.
Broomfield held tough through the first two quarters, within a 26-18 deficit at the break, but Highlands Ranch’s depth and experience — with four players committed to play college basketball next season — proved too much. Neubert (Hawaii) had 8 of her rebounds in the second half and Jamie Bain (Lindenwood) also scored in double figures with 13 points.
“I think it was just coach (Caryn Jarocki’s) talk with us and how we needed to step it up,” Neubert said. “Our mindset completely changed. We realized that if we didn’t pick it up, that could be our last game for the season.”
Broomfield was led by Steph Peterson’s 6 points and 6 rebounds. The Eagles were limited to two points in the fourth quarter.
After 21 wins combined over the previous two years, Broomfield finished its season 22-4 under once-again-first-year coach Mike Croell. Croell had previously coached the Eagles for 20 years and won six state championships prior to stepping away in 2011.
Highlands Ranch (25-1) will face the winner of Fossil Ridge and Cherry Creek in the semifinals March 7.
FINAL: (4) Cherry Creek 51, (5) Fossil Ridge 47
Bella Sparaco sank a free throw with 12.7 seconds to play Friday to clinch Cherry Creek’s ticket to the Class 5A Final Four.
Junior Jana Van Gytenbeek paced the Bruins (22-4) offensively with 21 points on 7 of 21 shooting. Sparaco had a game-high 17 rebounds.
Fossil Ridge’s Ashley Steffeck wrapped up her college career with a night to remember despite the outcome. The senior who’s heading to Colorado School of Mines next season led the SaberCats (21-5) with 20 points and was the driving force in multiple key rallies that kept the game close, including a 9-0 run to end the first half. However, Fossil Ridge’s inability to make free throws in the clutch ultimately led to its demise.
Steffeck, Davin Tonn and Lauren Zwetzig went a combined 2 of 6 at the line in the final 1:30 of the game with each trip providing an opportunity to either tie or take the lead. On the night, the SaberCats were 14 of 26 at the free-throw line.
Next week’s trip to the semifinals will be the Bruins’ second in three seasons and first under coach Clint Evans.
4A girls
(1) Air Academy 63, (8) Berthoud 51
(2) Holy Family 52, (7) Greeley Central 42
(4) Pueblo South 48, (5) Evergreen 42
(14) Mullen 62, (6) Montrose 28
Real-time Tweets
Live updates, tweets, photos, analysis and more from the 2019 Colorado high school state basketball tournament. Mobile users, if you can’t see the live blog, .
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