After last season ended with an upset loss in the Sweet 16, the Cherokee Trail girls basketball team’s mantra for this season is “unfinished business.”
CT returned its core from that bitter ending, which senior guard Damara Allen says is “heavy motivation” for a team that has the talent to make a push for the program’s first state title.
“We’ve beat Regis, we just beat No. 1-ranked Legend (on Monday),” said Allen, a University of Texas at San Antonio commit. “Even our two losses (to out-of-state teams at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Arizona), that made us gain confidence.
“We’re out for blood now, and that just feeds into our need to beat other top teams and make a run at the title.”
Sixth-year coach Tammi Statewright helms the Cougars, who are ranked No. 2 in the latest CHSAA poll, but will likely shoot back up to No. 1 after toppling Legend, 52-42, on Monday in Aurora. Statewright, a 1990 Montebello graduate who went on to play at Southern University in New Orleans, was previously the head coach at Gateway for a decade and coaches with her husband and longtime assistant, Ricky Statewright.
Tammi believes this year’s Cougars will “100%” be a Denver Coliseum team, capable of the Great 8 and beyond.
“I don’t know who (other teams) are going to put on (our scorers) to stop us,” Statewright said. “I’ve got a lot of options. (Against Legend), even through our mistakes, we kept playing. We didn’t hang our heads… My players are listening, they’re buying in and they’re doing everything we need to win.”
In addition to Allen, youthful CT (11-2) is headlined by junior guard Delainey Miller, junior guard Madeline Gibbs, sophomore guard Karson Chaney and the team’s other senior, forward Kynli Hart. Should the Cougars continue to hone their chemistry while being tested in the tough Centennial League, they will be a team to be reckoned with in the playoffs.
“We’ve got to stop turning the ball over unforced, and we’ve got to stop rushing,” Statewright said. “Everybody wants to score and be that person to get the bucket. But we’ve got to enjoy being up (and in control), and just start methodically beating people.”
The Titans’ talent. Despite the loss to CT this week, No. 1 Legend (11-1) also has the skill and depth to make a push for its first state title.
Under first-year head coach Darren Pitzner, who previously coached at Green Mountain and Lakewood, the Titans obliterated their first 11 opponents with high-pressure defense and effective shooting from three.
Pitzner called the defeat to the Cougars a “perfect gauge” for the Titans.
“For early January, to be right there with a team that just did what they did against Regis last Friday night, beating them by 18, it’s great,” Pitzner said. “We’re trying to nudge our way into that top tier. We’re not there yet, but with the girls being able to challenge CT like this, it showed us all the things we need to work on as we head into league season.”
The Titans are led by senior guard Katie Lamb, junior forward Mason Borcherding and junior center Aubrey Cook, plus a couple 3-point sharpshooters in sophomore guard Maile Starns and junior guard Ava Gavi. Junior point guard Maley Wilhelm runs the ship.
Cook, a transfer from Ponderosa who made her season debut against Cherokee Trail, is receiving heavy Division I interest and will be a key piece come tournament time. Correspondingly, the Titans need to improve on their inside-outside action and their composure, as evidenced in Monday’s loss.
“There’s huge potential as to how (Cook) can fit in this offense and with this team as she starts to play more with this group,” Pitzner said. “She can help us get to the next level.”
Grandview’s deceiving RPI. The defending Class 6A champion Wolves are ranked… No. 18 in the current RPI, which is about as deceiving as RPI gets.
Remember, Grandview has the top player in the state, junior forward and UCLA pledge Sienna Betts, who also happens to be one of the top-rated high school players in the country. Betts is averaging 23.4 points per game despite consistent double- and triple-teams, and leads all classifications with 16.1 rebounds per game. As long as she’s on the court, the Wolves will be dangerous.
Grandview is 5-6 so far, but all six losses have come to out-of-state teams. It’s a similar script to last year, when the Wolves also had a slow start before running the table to their fourth title.
“We always operate on the idea that you can’t fix it if you don’t know what’s broken,” Grandview head coach Josh Ulitzky said. “The last few years, it’s worked out well for us to go out of state, play some tough teams, learn some lessons.”
More storylines. Arapahoe, which made the Final Four last year, is potent again behind the combo of junior guard Gianna Smith (CSU commit) and senior forward Liz Gentry. After sitting out last year due to her transfer from Columbine, Gentry (Creighton) gives the Warriors (6-4) the size inside to make another Coliseum appearance…. No. 3 Cherry Creek (8-2) went through coaching chaos in the offseason. Bruins head coach Clint Evans retired and CCHS hired Grandview assistant Robert Dennis, but he didn’t make it to the season opener; so Jorsua Chambers, the father of star junior guard Tianna Chambers, is now at the helm. No matter, the Bruins are still in the early championship conversation…. And keep an eye on No. 4 Erie (7-1), which is a sleeper to make a run at the Tigers’ first title behind senior guard Maddie Hartel, a South Dakota School of Mines commit.
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