AURORA | Capsule preview look at the 2025 Class 6A girls state basketball first round playoff matchups involving an Aurora teams set for Feb. 26, 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 6A GIRLS BASKETBALL FIRST ROUND CAPSULES
NO. 40 FAIRVIEW (12-11) AT NO. 25 EAGLECREST (13-10), 6 P.M.
BREAKDOWN: Eaglecrest extended its streak of qualifying for the postseason to 11 seasons and advanced to the Sweet 16 last season. Coach Robby Gabrielli’s Raptors ended the regular season on a high note with a quality victory over No. 19 Arapahoe in the fifth-place game of the Centennial League Challenge tournament, which was their second win in a row following a four-game losing streak. For the season, Eaglecrest has averaged 48.5 points per game, while it has allowed just 41.9. The Raptors have just one player that averages in double figures in senior Jada Bobb (13.9 ppg), while senior Amaia Jones (who scored 16 points in the final game of the regular season) is next at 6.5 points per game and sophomore Kaydence Waymire adds 5.8. Bobb paces the Raptors in rebounding as well with 9.1 boards per contest, while Jones dishes out a team-high 2.9 assists per contest. …Fairview missed the postseason last year and is back after a ninth-place finish in the multi-classification Granite Peaks League. Coach Pete Campbell’s Knights come into the playoffs on a two-game losing streak and have dropped three of four. For the season, Fairview tallied 37 points per contest, while it allowed 40. Leading the way for the Knights offensively is sophomore Chloe Hickory, whose 11.0 points per game average is nearly double the 5.7 of junior Olivia Soto for team-high honors. Soto is the team leader in assists per game at 2.7, while junior Julia Savage paces the team in rebounds (6.1 rpg) per contest. …The teams had just one common opponent as both defeated Prairie View (Eaglecrest won 87-23, while Fairview triumphed 58-17). …WINNER GETS: The Fairview-Eaglecrest winner moves into a March 1 second round contest No. 8 Denver East (15-8).
NO. 37 BOULDER (14-9) AT NO. 28 OVERLAND (13-10), 6 p.m.
BREAKDOWN: Overland snapped a playoff drought that had stretched back to the 2017-2018 season, while it seeks its first postseason victory since a run to the then-Class 5A Great 8 in 2008. Coach Wondame Davis’ Trailblazers come into the playoffs off a victory over Smoky Hill to claim seventh place at the Centennial League Challenge tournament. For the season, Overland has averaged a healthy 51.8 points per game, while it has allowed just 43 per contest. Sophomore Michaela Halton has missed some games, but leads the team in scoring average at 16.9 points, while senior Ilaisaane Davis is next at 11.0 per contest. Five other Overland players average 4 points more more including sophomore Cayla Clark, the team’s leading rebounder at 6.6 per contest. Sophomore Emma Davis paces the team with an average of 2.0 assists per contest, while Halton’s 4.0 steals and 1.1 blocked shots per contest lead the Trailblazers. …Boulder has qualified for the postseason for the first time since way back in the 2015-16 season when it lost in the first round of the then Class 5A state tournament. Coach Tobin Skenandore’s Panthers dropped their regular season finale, but have the program’s most wins since the 2012-13 campaign. For the season, Boulder averaged 47.5 points scored and allowed just 41.6. Boulder has a duo of double-digit scorers in sophomore Lexi Oder (14.5 ppg) and senior Megan Matthews (14.3 ppg) and sophomore Remi Kingdom (9.4 ppg) is close behind. Senior Gaby McCollester collects and average of 9.1 rebounds per game to lead the way, while Matthew accrues an average of 2.8 assists per game to head that category. …The teams had two common opponents in Erie, which Overland defeated 49-41 and Boulder lost to 45-23 and Arapahoe (which Overland lost to 75-50 and Boulder fell to 80-33). …WINNER GETS: The Boulder-Overland winner moves on to a March 1 second round contest at No. 5 Pine Creek (21-2).
NO. 34 VISTA PEAK PREP (9-13) AT NO. 31 LEGACY (13-10), 6 p.m.
BREAKDOWN: Vista PEAK Prep moved up to Class 6A this season after it lost in the Sweet 16 of last season’s 5A playoffs and is in the postseason for a fourth straight time. Coach Howard Payne’s Bison comes into the postseason off a victory over rival Rangeview to finish 2-1 in the City League tournament and have won three of their last five games. For the season, Vista PEAK Prep has averaged 55.1 points per game and allowed 59.5. Senior Amirah Pena leads the team in scoring at 13.0 points per game, while emerging junior post player Knakai Starks is next at 12.8 points (plus a team-high 10.3 rebounds per game) and junior Amaya Nance and senior Eianna Jackson are just shy of double-figures averages at 9.8 and 9.7 points per game, respectively. Junior Jade Hibbler dishes out an average of 5.0 assists per contest to lead the team, while Pena’s 2.5 steals per game is tops on the Bison. …Legacy has missed the playoffs the past two seasons since a second-round loss in the then-Class 5A playoffs in the 2021-22 season. Coach Jody Welch’s Lightning — which finished seventh in the multi-classification Granite Peaks League — comes into the postseason with a victory over Boulder in the season finale. For the season, Legacy averages 44.3 points per game and allows just 40.2. The Lightning’s clear leader is senior Olivia Mortensen, who easily paces the team in scoring (23.6 ppg), rebounding (12.7 rpg), steals (4.5 spg), assists (2.1 apg) and blocked shots (2.0 bpg), while freshman Kennedy Martin is second in multiple categories. Freshman Gracie Bradley and junior Gianna Schmidt average 4.4 and 4.3 points per game, respectively. …The teams had only one common opponent during the regular season and both lost to Cherokee Trail (Vista PEAK Prep 84-38 and Legacy 59-23). … WINNER GETS: The Vista PEAK Prep-Legacy winner moves on to a March 1 second round contest at No. 2 Valor Christian (21-2).
NO. 36 RANGEVIEW (11-12) AT NO. 29 PUEBLO WEST (12-11), 6:30 p.m.
BREAKDOWN: Rangeview is a postseason regular and has now qualified for 21 consecutive seasons, but is in search of its first playoff victory since the second round of the then-Class 5A state tournament in 2021-22. Coach Tony Speights’ Raiders finished the season on a three-game losing streak and went 1-2 in the City League tournament on a busy stretch that included four games in four nights. For the season, Rangeview has scored an average of 47.5 points per game, while it has allowed 45.6 per contest. Senior Maddie Kilmer leads the way for the Raiders in scoring average (9.8 ppg) and rebounding (8.7 rpg), while sophomore Devyn Davenport is next in both categories at 9.1 points and 6.1 boards per contest in addition to a team-high average of 2.3 assists. Freshman Nylah Duncan paces Rangeview in steals per game at 3.2 per contest. …Pueblo West lost in the Sweet 16 of last season’s Class 5A state tournament and has qualified for the postseason in its first season in 6A. Coach David Simental’s Cyclones — the fourth-place team out of the multi-classification Colorado Springs Metro League — comes into the postseason on a three-game winning streak, which came after a three-game losing streak. For the season, Pueblo West has averaged 41 points per game and allowed 41.7 per contest. The Cyclones don’t have a player with a double-digit scoring average, though senior Jamie Suazo is close at 9.9 points per contest in addition to a team-high averages of 5.7 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 2.0 assists per game. Senior Rebekah Seggerman and sophomore Payton Odell average 7.6 and 7.4 points, respectively. …The teams played only one common opponent as both lost to Doherty (Rangeview 69-21 and Pueblo West twice, 63-37 and 48-23). …WINNER GETS: The Rangeview-Pueblo West winner moves into a March 1 second round contest at No. 4 Cherry Creek (16-7).
