Dagger Shots
Lady Angels Dominate The Season; Boys Team Is Rebuilding
Story and photos by Reid Neureiter
For the GPHN
With an intriguing mix of youth, experience, and size on their side, the East girls varsity basketball squad completed an undefeated 6A league schedule and won their first playoff round, upsetting Fruita Monument High School 38-32 on Feb. 20. In the second round three days later, the Lady Angels fell to No. 7-ranked Regis Jesuit by a score of 69-61.
Under the guidance of Coach Carl Mattei, 6-foot 4-inch sophomore center Mairead Hearty and 6-foot 2-inch senior power forward Harmonie Banks dominated the paint this season. Senior Jennesse Byrd and freshman Grace Hall shared point guard duties.
While the Lady Angels struggled against some of the suburban teams early on, their dominance of the Denver Public Schools 6A league has been unquestioned. On Feb. 7 at the Thunderdome, East demolished the Far Northeast Warriors by 70 points — 94-24. On Feb. 10 the Angels dispatched George Washington with ease with a final score of 61-38.
Byrd led the squad with a 13.3 points per game average, while the towering Hearty averaged 10.9 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. The Lady Angels finished the regular season with a 15-8 record and a No. 23 state ranking in the 6A Division.
The season hasn’t been as generous to the East boys team, the defending Colorado state 6A champions. The team is led by Coach Rudy Carey, the winningest coach in Colorado, who has chalked up 10 state titles. But this 2024 season proved a true test of Carey’s mettle. On Jan. 26, before a home game against DPS rival Thomas Jefferson, Carey was prescient about this year’s Angels’ playoff chances.
“We are awful young,” he said. “We are getting better, but there are a lot of good teams out here.”
Carey predicted a title repeat would be impossible. “The season has been a challenge. We graduated 12 seniors last year.” (That group included Colorado’s boys 2022-23 Gatorade Player of the Year D’Andre Samuels, who is now plying his hoop skills as the starting guard for NCAA Division 2 University of Nebraska-Kearney.)
But for the East boys, this “reloading” year was not without its bright points. In the Jan. 25 game against Thomas Jefferson, East dominated throughout, with junior shooting guard James Murray contributing 27 points in the 80-65 victory. And in a nail-biting 63-60 loss to George Washington on Feb. 10, junior guard Maurice Fulcher racked up 27 points, taking his season average to a team-leading 15.5 points per game. The Angels ultimately finished the season with an 11-12 record and missed the state playoffs.