Emblazoned on the court at the NCAA Final Four each year, the phrase “The Road Ends Here” indicates that the last teams standing have reached the pinnacle of their season.
For Mancos and Dove Creek, their road takes them to northern Colorado for the Great Eight of their respective state tournaments, with three days and three wins separating the Bluejays and Bulldogs from state titles.
The Bluejays (18-5) open up their inaugural trip to the 2A state quarterfinals on Thursday, Mar. 7 at 7 p.m. against No. 1 seed Merino (24-0) in Blue Arena in Loveland. After the Jays shocked the defending state champs Sedgwick County in the regional final this past Saturday, the sky’s the limit for head coach Kerri Morgan’s squad.
They’ll take plenty of confidence into their matchup with the Rams, who boast one of the most prolific scorers in the classification in sophomore Kya Piel – a guard who’s averaging 16 points, eight rebounds, and five steals per game. Their lone mutual opponent is Sedgwick County, who play in the Lower Platte League alongside the Rams. Merino defeated Sedgwick County three times this year and remains the lone unbeaten team in the 2A field.
Mancos, meanwhile, has senior Teya Yeomans playing at a high level, after the post player knocked in the game-winning bucket against the Cougars on Saturday, while the guard tandem of sophomore Claire Goodwin and senior Quincy Montoya are combining for better than 30 points per game.
The winner of Mancos-Merino will face off with the winner of No. 4 Hoehne and No. 5 Simla in Friday’s semifinals at 7 p.m., while the loser will head to the consolation bracket for an 11:45 a.m. Friday contest against the loser of the Farmers and Cubs.
Action for the Bluejays and Rams, as well as all contests in the Bluejay state tournament run, will be broadcast on radio station 98.7 FM KRTZ as well as on krtzradio.com – with Thursday’s broadcast starting at 6:45 p.m.
Dove Creek (20-2) will see their action kick off just down the road in Greeley at Bank of Colorado Arena on the campus of the University of Northern Colorado, as they face off against No. 3 Flatirons Academy (22-1) in the opening round.
The contest serves as a rematch of last year’s third-place contest, one in which the Bulldogs controlled the entire way in a 40-28 win to take their program’s highest finish. While the rosters have shifted some since then, many key figures from that contest will be back out on the floor in their state tournament opener at 4 p.m. on Thursday afternoon.
For the Bulldogs, senior Kylie Gatlin looks to guide the ‘Dogs again, much like she did last year with her team-high 13-point outburst against the Bison. Meanwhile, Flatirons sports a strong senior of their own in post player Emma Cox, who’s averaged 27 points per game this season to lead the Bison to the 5280 League title and a return trip to Greeley.
“There’s actually some comfort in the familiarity,” said Dove Creek head coach Julie Kibel of the program’s third straight trip, “while we know that everyone who makes it to this point in the tournament is really good, it’s also helpful for us to already have an understanding of the way they play.”
Junior Ralynn Hickman has stepped up with her scoring, particularly in the run to a regional title for Dove Creek, while several Bulldogs will get their first taste of the UNC floor.
On their side of the bracket, Dove Creek and Flatirons Academy hope to move on to face either No. 2 Stratton or No. 7 Eads in a semifinal contest on Friday night at 7 p.m. The losers of those two quarterfinals will meet at 11:45 a.m. in the consolation bracket.
Much like Mancos, the Bulldog contest can be heard on 98.7 FM KRTZ and online at krtzradio.com, with pregame coverage beginning at 3:45 p.m. for the 4 p.m. showdown.
