DENVER | The battle for Aurora is also the battle for Colorado supremacy.
For the second straight season, the Class 5A girls state basketball championship trophy will reside in the city, the only question is which of the two schools separated by a short stretch of Arapahoe Road — Grandview and Regis Jesuit — will have it.
The fourth-seeded Wolves and sixth-seeded Raiders each posted double-digit victories Thursday night at the Denver Coliseum to earn their way out of opposite sides of the bracket into the state championship game at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
The only two Aurora girls programs ever to win state championships — Regis Jesuit has three (2009, 2013 & 2014) and Grandview, which got its first last season — will meet for the first time in the state final, though they’ve encountered each other deep in the postseason previously.
The Wolves and Raiders played each other in the 5A semifinals in 2013 (Regis Jesuit won) and last season (Grandview won) and now tangle with the big prize on the line.
The Raiders dealt the Wolves a two-point loss back in December — still Grandview’s only loss to a Colorado team since the semifinals of the 2015-16 state tournament — however both teams have come a long way since then, as their semifinal results show.
The defending state champion Wolves shook off some early struggles against eighth-seeded Fossil Ridge on their way to a 54-38 victory, which came after they had to escape Highlands Ranch by a single point in the Great 8.
Senior Leilah Vigil had 16 points and junior Alisha Davis added 11 to go with 14 rebounds and a handful of blocked shots for coach Josh Ulitzky’s team, which has now won 20 consecutive games.
Turnover-plagued Regis Jesuit could only build a six-point edge over second-seeded Lakewood, but another strong third quarter put coach Carl Mattei’s team in position to finish.
Sophomore Jada Moore scored all nine of her points in the period — as many as the Tigers had as a team — as the Raiders worked the margin into double figures and they were never threatened the rest of the way.
Junior Fran Belibi sat for most of the first half with foul trouble, but made her presence felt in the fourth quarter with 10 of her game-high 14 points, while senior Noelle Cahill added nine and freshman Avery Vansickle contributed seven.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Sentinel Prep Sports
2018 CLASS 5A GIRLS STATE BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS
CHAMPIONSHIP (March 10 at Denver Coliseum)
Game 63: NO. 6 REGIS JESUIT (24-3) vs. NO. 4 GRANDVIEW (24-3), 6:30 p.m.
FINAL FOUR (March 8 at Denver Coliseum)
Game 61: NO. 4 GRANDVIEW 54, No. 8 Fossil Ridge 38
Game 62: NO. 6 REGIS JESUIT 47, No. 2 Lakewood 34