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All 4 city girls basketball teams make 6A playoffs as Rocky Mountain, Windsor set to host

Chris Abshire, Fort Collins Coloradoan
·4 min read

Nine of the 10 eligible Fort Collins-area boys and girls high school basketball teams qualified for the playoffs across Class 5A and 6A.

Basketball playoff brackets were released Sunday on CHSAANow.com.

Class 1A-3A basketball teams still have regional and district tournaments over the next two weeks, with state tournament brackets released later.

Three local teams will host at least first-round action as top-16 seeds.

Here's where our local hoops squads are seeded, plus a look at their playoff matchups:

All Fort Collins city teams make 6A girls field

All four city girls basketball teams are headed to the postseason, the first time that has happened in the modern playoff format with a field of 32 teams or fewer.

Rocky Mountain is the No. 14 seed and will have a home playoff game for the first time since 2018.

The Lobos (17-6) host No. 19 seed Doherty (19-4) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 20.

The two teams met also met in last year's 6A first round, with the Spartans winning 75-62.

Rocky ended the regular season on a roll, winning six of its last eight and taking the city title with a 52-49 win at Fort Collins last Thursday.

Rocky Mountain's Alayna Wentz gets announced during a game against Fort Collins High School on Feb. 15.
Rocky Mountain's Alayna Wentz gets announced during a game against Fort Collins High School on Feb. 15.

With a first-round win, the Lobos would very likely face No. 3 seed Legend (21-2) in a Friday Sweet 16 game.

The other three city girls teams will hit the road for 6A opening-round action. Here are their seeds and opponents on Tuesday:

  • No. 17 Fort Collins (17-6) at No. 16 Highlands Ranch (14-9), 7 p.m.

  • No. 28 Fossil Ridge (13-10) at No. 5 Pine Creek (20-3), 6 p.m.

  • No. 29 Poudre (13-10) at No. 4 Valor Christian (18-4), 6:30 p.m.

More: Fort Collins-area girls basketball scores, schedules for the 2023-24 season

Windsor teams could host until Great 8

The Wizards' boys and girls basketball teams each earned top-8 seeds in Class 5A, meaning they would have home games until the Great 8, when action moves to the Denver Coliseum.

The Windsor boys team is the No. 3 seed after an unbeaten run through league play and will host No. 30 Standley Lake (14-9) on Wednesday, Feb. 21, at 6 p.m.

The Wizards (19-4) haven't lost since Jan. 6 and have dropped just one game against a 5A opponent all season.

They'll be heavily favored to reach the Final 4 again after making it there last season.

Windsor's Johnathan Reed(32) drives to the hoop during a game against Fort Collins High School in Windsor on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023.
Windsor's Johnathan Reed(32) drives to the hoop during a game against Fort Collins High School in Windsor on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023.

The Windsor girls are the No. 5 seed and will host No. 28 George Washington (10-13) on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 6 p.m.

The Wizards (15-8) have made three consecutive state championship games but still seek that elusive state title.

They had a six-game winning streak snapped in the regular season finale, a close loss at 4A No. 1 Holy Family.

Possible second-round matchups would be:

  • Windsor girls: No. 12 Skyview (19-4) or No. 21 Littleton (13-10)

  • Windsor boys: No. 14 Thomas Jefferson (13-10) or No. 19 Golden (14-9)

Fossil Ridge leads local 6A boys

Three of the four city boys basketball teams are also heading to the Class 6A playoffs.

None will host first-round playoff action, though.

Fossil Ridge earned the highest seed at No. 20, which will make for a tough road as the SaberCats attempt to make a third consecutive state championship appearance.

Fossil Ridge boys basketball's Cayden Clagett (10) evades defenders as he drives to the basket during a city rivalry boys-girls doubleheader against Fort Collins on Jan. 30 at Fort Collins High School. The SaberCats won 65-55.
Fossil Ridge boys basketball's Cayden Clagett (10) evades defenders as he drives to the basket during a city rivalry boys-girls doubleheader against Fort Collins on Jan. 30 at Fort Collins High School. The SaberCats won 65-55.

Rocky Mountain also came on strong late and won the city championship after blowing out Fort Collins last week.

Here are the seeds and opponents for Fort Collins boys teams in opening-round games on Wednesday, Feb. 21:

  • No. 20 Fossil Ridge (16-7) at No. 13 Cherry Creek (13-10), 6:30 p.m.

  • No. 28 Rocky Mountain (13-10) at No. 5 Rock Canyon (18-5), 7 p.m.

  • No. 29 Fort Collins (14-9) at No. 4 ThunderRidge (18-5), 7 p.m.

More: Fort Collins-area boys basketball scores, schedules for the 2023-24 season

Hockey playoff brackets released Monday

The Colorado high school ice hockey playoff brackets were released Monday on CHSAANow.com after the regular season concluded this past weekend.

The Poudre School District hockey team finished No. 5 in CHSAA's 5A seeding index.

That has the Stars (9-7-2) hosting a first-round playoff game in the 12-team bracket against No. 12 Heritage (8-9-1). They'll hit the ice Friday (Feb. 23) at 7:15 p.m.

PSD beat the Eagles 8-1 back on Dec. 12. If the Stars advance they would face No. 4 Monarch, which has a first-round bye.

Those two teams met twice this season, with both games ending in ties.

It's been a resurgent year for the district squad, which has tripled its win total from last season.

Poudre School District ice hockey players celebrate after scoring a goal during a game against Cherry Creek on Jan. 26 at NoCo Ice Center in Windsor.
Poudre School District ice hockey players celebrate after scoring a goal during a game against Cherry Creek on Jan. 26 at NoCo Ice Center in Windsor.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado playoff seeding set for Fort Collins, Windsor basketball teams