AURORA | There are freshman moments and then there is what Cherokee Trail’s Chloe Cain did Wednesday night.
The Cougars’ first-year standout took over in the most crucial stage of a Class 6A Sweet 16 contest against visiting Eaglecrest, as she tallied 12 of her game-high 22 points to help the top-seed qualify for Friday’s Great 8 with a 60-52 win over the 17th-seeded Raptors.
Senior Aaliyah Broadus reached the 1,000 career points mark in the opening half and contributed seven of her 20 in the final quarter to help Cherokee Trail seal passage to the Great 8 for the second time in the past three seasons.
Coach Tammi Traylor-Statewright’s Cougars (22-3) have a rematch with No. 9 Legend (18-7) — which they have defeated twice this season — in a 4 p.m. Friday Great 8 contest.
Eaglecrest snapped a streak of two first-round exits from the playoffs and qualified for the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2023, but remains in search of its first trip to the Denver Coliseum in more than two decades.
The Raptors — who got 20 points from senior Naomi Emecheta — finished 18-7 in the first season under coach Jorsua Chambers.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
