Air Academy clinches 4A Metro title with rout at Sand Creek

The final league championship for this group of Air Academy seniors is one they won’t have to share.

Almost a year to the day after falling to Sand Creek and therefore splitting the 4A Metro crown with Mesa Ridge, the Kadets went into the Scorpions’ gym and convincingly clinched the league title outright with a 63-39 win on Tuesday.

For Air Academy’s eight seniors this is their fourth league title, the first two coming when the team competed in 5A.

“How many people in the world can claim they have four league championships?” said Air Academy coach Bob Wingett, who knew off the top of his head that last year’s loss to Sand Creek came on Feb. 15 by the score of 41-40.

“We talked a lot early in the year about avenging some of those things. Well, not really avenging, but making up for some poor performances.”

Kate Louthan scored a game-high 16 points and had nine rebounds, Brittany Hernandez added 14 points and nine boards and Air Academy led 40-14 at halftime in a game that had a lot riding on it but quickly devolved into a blowout.

“We have a lot of things we want to accomplish this year,” Louthan said. “It’s not so much goals, but steps. We wanted to win league, and now we’ve done that. We want to get back to the Final Four and hopefully win state.”

The strategy for Air Academy (20-2, 13-0 4A Metro) was simple enough. Taking advantage of a height advantage at nearly every position, the Kadets worked the ball into the paint on all but four first-half possessions – and three of those four resulted in Air Academy 3-pointers.

It’s not like Sand Creek didn’t fight it – even blocking three shots in the first two quarters – but the Scorpions couldn’t compete against the taller, more refined Kadets.

“They make the fourth, fifth, sixth pass to score and just do a lot of things that other teams don’t do,” said first-year Sand Creek coach Jamey Carey, a former WNBA player. “And that’s why they’re sitting in the position they’re in.”

The Scorpions (16-6, 11-2) have certainly overachieved in this first season under Carey. A big part of that has been the emergence of sophomore Mikayla Reese.

Already, the 5-foot-6 guard is the probably the league’s most skilled and confident ballhandler. She’s displayed advanced vision and passing skills at times on Tuesday and flashed glimpses of the shooter she will likely become with a long 3-pointer and a team-high 12 points – she’s averaging a team-high 13.2 points.

Reese has already taken an unofficial visit to Colorado and could develop as one of the state’s most coveted recruits by the time she’s finished.

“She’s a very nice player,” Carey said. “She does a great job for us.”

The only shame is that Reese didn’t get a chance to play along side 6-foot San Francisco signee Taylor Proctor, who has missed her entire senior season with a knee injury.

While Reese may represent the future, there’s not doubt Air Academy is the area’s 4A team of the present. MaxPreps has the Kadets ranked No. 5 in the state regardless of classification, easily the highest of any team in the Pikes Peak region (5A Doherty is next in line at No. 10).

Wingett will be in Denver on Sunday when the 4A brackets are announced. There’s a good chance the Kadets will have the No. 1 spot – yet another honor they won’t have to share.