Hot Starts Shaking Up Colorado Girls Basketball Landscape

The opening few weeks of the girls basketball season don't necessarily paint an accurate picture. Records can be skewed in either direction based on the early-season schedule.

For instance, a prime contender might start 2-2, but the .500 mark could be due to facing upper-echelon competition. Another team, meanwhile, might sizzle out of the gates to a 6-0 start, but it's largely to do with taking on pedestrian competition.

A hot start is a hot start, however, and we'll take a look at a few teams from each classification who have done so as the holiday break draws near. And to be clear, this is mostly a look at teams off to surprise hot starts, not those that were expected to crush from the get-go.

Class 5A
Although it's difficult to tell how significant this in on the overall landscape, Fruita Monument's 10-0 start has been eye-popping. Only one of the Wildcats' wins, the latest against Loveland, came against a team from the CHSAANow.com 5A preseason rankings (Loveland was No. 10). But Fruita has taken care of business behind 6-foot junior guard Riley Snyder, who is averaging 17 points.

Fairview (Boulder) began the season unranked, but the Knights have defeated the 2014 champion (Broomfield) and 2015 champion (ThunderRidge (Highlands Ranch)) en route to a 5-1 start. Coach Rod Beauchamp's Knights, who ascended to No. 8 in the first updated poll, are receiving three-tiered production from Ashley Panem, Grace O'Neil and Denali Pinto, who are combining for about 48 points a game. The Knights' lone loss was to No. 2 Ralston Valley (Arvada) in the final of the Fairview Festival.

A 6-0 start by Doherty (Colorado Springs), led by senior Kalani Poloa, also has been one of the early surprises, although the Spartans were solid last season at 18-7.

Class 4A
Neither Palisade nor Pueblo East was in the preseason rankings, but each is threatening to knock down the door and land a spot. Combined, the teams have started 13-1.

Palisade (8-1) has reeled off eight straight wins after an opening loss to Mesa Ridge (Colorado Springs), and Pueblo East has been dominant behind Nastassja Rubio, Chazz Padula and Kayla Albo. The Eagles (5-0) have won each of their games by at least 18 points.

Golden (7-1), which began the season at No. 10, has been exceedingly hot in the early going, as has Air Academy (US Air Force Academy) (6-2), which entered the poll in Week 2. A 6-0 burst by Skyview (Thornton) to begin the season also hasn't gone unnoticed.

Class 3A
As of Monday, 13 teams from the classification had either zero or one loss. All of those qualify as sizzling starts, but one of the more compelling is that of Liberty Common (Fort Collins) (5-0). The Eagles have one of the state's finest all-around players in Halley Miklos (27.8 points, 13 rebounds per contest) and have ascended from No. 10 to No. 6. Hannah Kohl has provided the Eagles with a capable complementary scorer.

While Sterling (6-0) and St. Mary's (Colorado Springs) (5-0) began the season Nos. 2 and 6 in the preseason rankings, their hot starts have allowed them to ascend to Nos. 1 and 2. Colorado Springs Christian (5-0), Lamar (5-0) and Trinidad (3-0) also have yet to be beat.

Class 2A
West Grand (Kremmling) began the season unranked, but the Mustangs started 6-0 before a loss at Clear Creek and jumped into the poll at No. 9 last week. It's worth noting that West Grand leapt to an 8-0 start last season but was eliminated in districts. Peyton Bodemann is averaging a double-double for the Mustangs, who have steadily improved since going 1-17 in 2011-12.

Wray was a contender all along as the No. 4 team in the preseason poll, but the Eagles' back-to-back wins against defending-champion Yuma last week (one in a tournament game) proves that they mean business. In vaulting to No. 2, senior Paige Beckman and her teammates are primed for another deep run after reaching the semifinals last season.

Class 1A
Antonito began the season by winning the Thunderbird Classic at Sangre de Cristo, and the Trojans have parlayed they tourney win into a 5-0 start. The opening burst, led by senior Brenay Ruybal and juniors Erykah Tallman and Josyln Garcia, isn't all that surprising considering Antonito finished 17-6 last season. But the Trojans lost in regionals. They are aiming for the state tournament this season. The hot start allowed Antonito to leap from No. 8 to No. 3 in the rankings.

Kim/Branson is also off to a 5-0 start, which has allowed the Mustangs to leap from No. 10 in the preseason poll to No. 4. They began the season with a nine-point win over then-No. 6 South Baca.