Wednesday's roundup: Vander Ploeg leads Cheyenne Mountain to first-round win

Highlights from Wednesday's postseason basketball action involving teams from the Pikes Peak region:

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

4A STATE TOURNAMENT

First round

No. 5 Cheyenne Mountain 59, No. 12 Longmont 45

At Cheyenne Mountain: Janae Vander Ploeg scored 18 points with 21 rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocks – leading the team in every category – as Cheyenne Mountain advanced to the second round.

The Indians (16-8) built a 21-point lead after outscoring Longmont (5-18) 24-10 in the third quarter.

Hunter Peifer and Amanda Weber each scored 10 points for Cheyenne Mountain, which will face No. 4 Elizabeth at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Pueblo West.

No. 7 Mesa Ridge 73, No. 10 Northridge 43

At Mesa Ridge: Gabby Purnell scored 17 points, Sami Rudd added 12 and Mesa Ridge opened the playoffs with a convincing victory over its opponent from Greeley.

The Grizzlies (13-10) led 20-4 after the first quarter as this one was never in doubt.

Taisha Woodyard added a team-high nine rebounds and Maddison Cowan had four steals for Mesa Ridge, which has an entirely different cast from the team that made it to the semifinals a year ago.

Northridge (10-14) had been better on the road this season, entering Wednesday's game 8-6 on the road and at neutral sites and just 2-7 at home. But that wasn't the case in this one.

Mesa Ridge will travel to No. 2 Centaurus at 5 p.m. Friday.

No. 10 Discovery Canyon 43, No. 7 Thomas Jefferson 33

At Thomas Jefferson: Discovery Canyon picked up a victory in the program’s first playoff game, shaking off Thomas Jefferson on the road.

“It’s great,” Thunder coach Danelle Rivera said after the team enjoyed a fast-food victory celebration. “It’s good to have a program that has been on the build for a while and coming out and doing what we knew we could do. It’s just a matter of taking young minds without a tradition of winning and trying to instill that in them.”

Discovery Canyon (11-13) led most of the way, though Thomas Jefferson (13-11) forced ties at 4-4 and 13-13. It was a stretch early in third quarter that allowed the Thunder to finally get some separation. Defensive adjustments after that helped them stay ahead.

Mariel Barner led the way with 16 points and Mel Benkert added nine points for Discovery Canyon.

The Thunder play at Sand Creek at 7 p.m Friday in the second round. The second-seeded Scorpions won the first meeting 36-28 on Jan. 13.

No. 6 Sierra 56, No. 11 Fort Lupton 30

At Sierra: With 25 steals and 23 offensive rebounds, Sierra gave itself more than enough looks at the basket while limiting Fort Lupton’s opportunities in a first-round playoff victory.

Chelsea Barrett led the way with 17 points and Omo Odio added 12 for the Stallions (15-8). Both added 10 rebounds.

Fort Lupton (8-15) fell behind 29-19 at halftime.

Sierra will face Roosevelt at Broomfield on Friday.

No. 6 Pueblo Central 41, No. 11 Coronado 28

At Pueblo Central: Coronado fell behind 19-13 at halftime and never could climb in front.

Kori Eurich led the way with 16 points for Pueblo Central (13-10).

Coronado (7-15) finished the season on a seven-game losing skid.

Jessica McCallum led the Cougars with 14 points.

No. 5 Valor Christian 53, No. 12 Lewis-Palmer 28

At Valor Christian: Caroline Bryan scored 12 points and Valor Christian (19-4) pulled away in the second half after leading by just seven points at halftime.

Lewis-Palmer (5-19) had won back-to-back games to close the season and get into the playoffs.

5A STATE TOURNAMENT

First round

No. 7 Poudre 53, No. 10 Rampart 41

At Poudre: Despite 26 points from Macy Myers and a five-point lead after the first quarter, Rampart saw its season come to an end.

Poudre (15-9) took the lead by outscoring the Rams 18-8 in the second quarter and held on the rest of the way.

Katie Ruff added nine points for Rampart (10-13).

No. 7 Mountain Vista 36, No. 10 Pine Creek 33

At Mountain Vista: Pine Creek jumped to an 11-4 lead after the first quarter and led by a point at halftime, but the Eagles (9-15) couldn't quite hold on for the upset.

Jennifer Wahleithner led Mountain Vista (13-11) with 11 points.

BOYS’ BASKETBALL

3A TRI-PEAKS LEAGUE DISTRICT

First round

Manitou Springs 60, St. Mary’s 45

At Manitou Springs: Jesse Megyeri scored 22 points, Aaron Malvern added 20 and Manitou led throughout in advancing to the district semifinals.

This was the second victory of the year for the Mustangs (18-2) over one of their key rivals and keeps them on track for a third meeting with another regular adversary – CSCS – which has handed Manitou both of its losses this year in tight fashion. That meeting could come Saturday in the district finals.

Jacob Raedel scored 13 points for St. Mary’s (12-9) and Daniel Padrnos added 10.

CSCS 72, Florence 36

At CSCS: Nate Engesser scored 17 points, Austin Johnson hit five 3-pointers and unbeaten CSCS rolled through its district opener.

Johnson finished with 15 points and Kyle Broekhuis had 13. Eleven players scored for the Lions (20-0).

Florence (9-12) found itself down 37-21 at halftime and never recovered. Andrew McDowell led the Huskies with 12 points. Chase Archer added nine.

2A DISTRICT 8

Peyton 62, Vanguard 35

At Peyton: Ethan Abello scored 19 points to lead three Peyton players in double figures in a blowout victory in the district opener.

The Panthers (18-2) will face Calhan at 8:30 p.m. Friday in a semifinal at Fountain Middle School. The winner of the tournament will host a four-team regional at UCCS, while the others will play at some of the other seven predetermined regional spots around the state.

Five of the teams in the district will advance.

Peyton is getting back to full speed as Jared Watkins recovers from a month away dealing with leg issues. One of Watkins' legs was growing faster than the other, so doctors put staples on his growth plate to slow it while the other leg caught up. The alternative would have been having an inch of his femur removed.

Watkins has been back for about a week and scored 11 points in Wednesday’s victory. Kyle Gowen had 13 for Peyton.

The leading scorer for Vanguard (8-12) was Joe Donelson, who had 14.

The Coursers must win their next two games to advance to a regional.

Calhan 54, CSS 38

At Calhan: Jerrod Crook scored 16 points and Calhan exploded in the second half after leading by six at halftime.

Garrett Balsick added nine points and Quintin Renzelman scored eight for the Bulldogs (15-5).

James Chen scored 15 for Colorado Springs School (11-8) and Jackson Pinney added 13.