AURORA | Capsule preview look at the 2025 Class 5A girls state basketball first round playoff matchup involving an Aurora teams set for Feb. 25, 2025 (full bracket, schedule):
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2025 CLASS 5A GIRLS BASKETBALL FIRST ROUND CAPSULE
NO. 34 NIWOT (10-13) AT NO. 31 AURORA CENTRAL (13-8)
BREAKDOWN: Aurora Central put an end to a postseason drought that stretched back to the 2009-10 season, the last time the program also had a playoff home game. The Trojans’ last postseason victory came before 2003, however. In his first season as head coach, Braden Hammond guided Aurora Central (which played 21 of 23 allowed contests) to a second-place finish in the Colorado League standings and it comes into the playoffs off a loss to Skyview in the league championship contest. Aurora Central averaged 38.4 points per game, while it allowed just 35.1 per contest. Junior Jamaea Johnson-Gonzales averaged a double-double this season (16.1 points, 10.5 rebounds) to lead her team in both categories, while she also paced the squad in steals per game (4.2) and blocked shots (2.9 per game). Sophomore Andena Torres ranked second on the team in the three major categories at 5.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.8 steals per contest, while freshman Anabella Lumba and sophomore Ana Lua have added a scoring boost lately. …Niwot has also missed the postseason for more than a decade, as its last appearance came in the 2013-14 season with a first round loss to Palisade in the then-4A tournament. Coach Todd Trobaugh’s Cougars — which finished 12th out of 14 teams in the multi-classification Granite Peaks League — enter the postseason on a three-game losing streak. Niwot has ceded 49.8 points per game to opponents, while it has scored 43 per contest. The Cougars did not have a player average in double figures this season, but senior Thalia Almaraz (9.6 ppg) and freshman Alaina Loomis (9.4 ppg) are close and Almaraz leads the team in steals (5.1) and assists (2.0) per game as well. Senior Jiselle Sales paces the team in rebounding at 6.9 per contest. …The teams played two common opponents during the season as both defeated Gateway (Aurora Central won 44-21, 46-29 and 51-36 in three Colorado League meetings, while Niwot won 55-28 in tournament play) and both lost to Standley Lake (Aurora Central fell 50-20, Niwot dropped a 66-21 contest). …WINNER GETS: The Niwot-Aurora Central winner moves on to a March 1 second round contest at No. 2 Mead.
