DSST center Bradlee Cotton is going to Northern Arizona on scholarship and plans to study engineering. She and younger sister Bailey Cotton also hope to
DSST center Bradlee Cotton is going to Northern Arizona on scholarship and plans to study engineering. She and younger sister Bailey Cotton also hope to win a state title in basketball this coming winter. (Karl Gehring, The Denver Post)

Go ahead, call them the "Geek Squad."

But as long as the girls from the Denver School of Science and Technology thrive in the classroom and on the basketball court, they'll accept that moniker with a wink, a smile and the swish of a jump shot.

"It's cool. We don't mind," junior forward Bailey Cotton said. "Maybe some people think we are nerds and not very good at sports. But I think we surprise them."

Last year the Lady Knights did exactly that. Starting two freshmen, one sophomore and two seniors, DSST went 25-2 and finished third in the Class 3A state tournament. But the Lady Knights won't sneak up on anybody in 2012-13. They enter the season ranked No. 1 in the preseason Denver Post coaches poll, are heavy favorites to wear the Frontier League crown and have designs on bringing home a state title.

"Definitely. We have our whole team back except for one player," said sophomore guard Jaelynn Smith, who averaged 15.5 points per game last season to lead the Lady Knights in scoring. "We are making progress every day in practice."

Added Cotton: "It's different this year. Last year we were definitely underrated because people looked at us as the 'smartsy' school. Maybe they thought we should just stick to academics, but we showed we can do both."

DSST, also called Stapleton High, opened in 2004. It's a public charter school with a strenuous college prep curriculum with an emphasis on math and science. Forty percent of its students are from economically disadvantaged families, 68 percent of students are minorities and 41 percent are the first in their families to go to college.

Beginning with the first graduating class in 2008, the school has sent every senior to a four-year college.

"This school is full of high-achieving students," said DSST coach Geneice Brame. "The academics are ferocious."

The girls on this year's team carry grade-point averages ranging from 3.8 to 4.2.

"You have to learn to balance your classroom work, with your homework, with your practice time," Smith said. "It's all about balance and time management."

The team's anchor is senior forward/center Bradlee Cotton, Bailey's older sister. She recently accepted a basketball scholarship to Northern Arizona where she plans to study engineering.

The team captain, who's played for the Lady Knights since she was a freshman, has seen the program grow and blossom. She loves the depth and talent of this year's team, but she's not taking anything for granted.

"Taking state's a possibility," she said. "Right now, that's a long ways away. But that's our goal."

Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1720, psaunders@denverpost.com or twitter.com/psaundersdp

Girls preps hoops

Top players
Francesca Sally, Denver East, Sr.
Dani Akigbogun, Regis Jesuit, Jr.
Lena Jaycox, Boulder, Sr.
Shelby Hickey, H. Ranch, Sr.
Macy Myers, Rampart, Sr.
Adaze Obinnah, Grandview, Sr.
Kaylie Rader, Horizon, Sr.
Caitlyn Smith, Legacy, Sr.
Angela Vigil, Doherty, Sr.
Taylor Williams, ThunderRidge, Sr.
Jordan Wilson, Prairie View, Sr.
Katrina Bacovin, Chaparral, Sr.
Mary Cavanaugh, Heritage, Sr.
Bradlee Cotton, Denver DSS&T, Sr.
Jordan Eisler, Legacy, Sr.
Taylor Leyva, Pueblo West, Sr.
Katie Longwell, Chaparral, Sr.
Madison Montgomery, H. Ranch, Sr.
Ciera Morgan, H. Ranch, Jr.

Coaches poll
Class 5A
1. Highlands Ranch
2. ThunderRidge
3. Grandview
4. Regis Jesuit
5. Horizon
6. Chaparral
7. Palmer
8. Denver East
9. Monarch
10. Arapahoe

Class 4A
1. Pueblo South
2. Broomfield
3. Pueblo West
4. Sand Creek
5. D'Evelyn
6. Mesa Ridge
7. Centaurus
8. Silver Creek
9. Palmer Ridge
10. Windsor

Class 3A
1. Denver School of Science & Tech.
2. St. Mary's
3. Holy Family
4. Eaton
5. Centauri
6. Bishop Machebeuf
7. Pagosa Springs
8. Brush
9. Moffat County
10. Valley

Class 2A
1. Akron
2. Paonia
3. The Vanguard
4. Lutheran
5. Simla
6. Evangelical Chr.
7. Las Animas
8. Peyton
9. Rye
10. Yuma

Class 1A
1. Caliche
2. Norwood
3. Hi-Plains
4. Eads
5. Kit Carson
6. Pawnee
7. Elbert
8. Kim
9. Wiley
10. Flagler