Sports

Girls Basketball Preview – Extended Capsule

Grayson Blalock, Editor-in-Chief
December 4, 2019

Top Returners

Points: Anna Hefner 10.6, Grace Moyers 8.6, Deb Altshuler 7.5

Rebounds: Hefner 6.0, Alyssa Barnett 4.4, Edie Morrow 4.0

Assists: Ava Welty 2.1, Moyers 2.0, Morrow 1.5

Threes: Altshuler 29, Moyers 28, Morrow 3

*Gudino averaged 14.9 PPG for Holy Family

Roster

3 Grace Moyers

11 G Gudino

21 Deb Altshuler

34 Edie Morrow

53 Anna Hefner

14 Ava Welty

24 Alyssa Barnett

20 Kalyssa Berringer

31 Erica Pickering

32 Sarah Hill

4 Alea George

Schedule Breakdown

Erie plays an almost identical schedule to last year’s – except the home sites are flipped. They start off the year by hosting Longmont and Silver Creek – two St. Vrain teams that are in different stages of a rebuild – Longmont lost almost every player last year to graduation. Silver Creek did too, but sophomore guard Mackenzie Larson should provide a bright spot for the young Raptors. The Tigers won both last year and look to do the same again this year.

From there, Erie heads to the Centaurus tournament where they should contend for the title along with 5A Brighton. They start off against Thornton and should they win would play the winner of Greeley West and Silver Creek

To wrap up December, they play Niwot during finals week, but perhaps the biggest pre-Christmas matchup is a round of 32 rematch with D’Evelyn, who the Tigers eliminated en route to the Sweet 16 after D’Evelyn won the December game. The Jaguars lost several seniors but return their second leading scorer and the Saturday afternoon tilt should be an entertaining one. One thing to keep in mind is that D’Evelyn hasn’t seen Grace Moyers at full strength – she played through the flu in the first game and sprained her ankle early in the second – and she could have a big night.

When January begins, so does Tri-Valley league play. Erie will begin with Fort Morgan and Roosevelt before their toughest stretch of the season.

In the span of one week, Erie hosts Holy Family, and travels to Windsor, Berthoud, and Skyline – those four plus the Tigers could very well be the top 5 Tri-Valley teams at the end of the season.

Erie has never beaten Holy Family in girls basketball, and if there’s ever been a year that they could win one, it’s this one. Former Holy Family star Genevieve Gudino is now at Erie with immediate eligibility, and she and the rest of the Tigers of the north should be very motivated – but so will Holy Family, and don’t be surprised if it gets chippy. Mark your calendars for January 11 – it could be Erie’s biggest home game in a long time.

Erie hasn’t won at Windsor since 2008, per MaxPreps and will go from the Holy Family game into perhaps the hardest place to play in the Tri-Valley – in Windsor’s gym. Windsor lost most of their starters from last year, and will have to rely on guard Kylee Sanger to maintain a near-perfect record against Erie at home.

*Author’s note – if you happen to be in Windsor for this one, make sure to grab a piece of pepperoni pizza from the concessions stand – it’s excellent. Also, check out Windsor’s trophy case. Even for a fan of another team, there’s an incredible amount of history there.*

What follows is perhaps the biggest game of the stretch – when Erie travels to Berthoud. The Spartans are one of, if not the best Tri-Valley team this year. Look for Edie Morrow to step up defensively and guard Breanna Fowler if Erie can pull this one off.

Erie ends their rugged run with a trip to Skyline. The Falcons have a “Big 3” of seniors, but outside of that group, they don’t have much else, and this could be an opportunity for Deb Altshuler, who might be Erie’s best shooter, to have a big night.

Even if Altshuler doesn’t have her best game against Skyline, don’t be surprised if she has a Klay Thompson-esque night or two throughout the season and drops 40.

After the brutal road slate, Erie rounds out the first half of league play with Mead and Frederick, two teams that Erie beat both times last year and that are looking to improve.

Biggest Games

@ D’Evelyn, December 21st, 4:30 PM

vs Holy Family, January 11th, 5:30 PM

@ Berthoud, January 14th, 5:30 PM

@ Windsor, January 16th, 6:30 PM

vs Frederick, January 23rd, 5:30 PM

vs Berthoud, February 7th, 5:30 PM

Senior Night vs Mead, February 18th, 5:30 PM

@ Frederick, February 21st, 5:30 PM

A Glance at 4A

My Preseason Top 10

1 – Mullen