AURORA | A new Class 6A girls state basketball champion will be crowned after Grandview got eliminated by visiting Fort Collins Saturday morning.
With a roster changed greatly by graduation — including the departure of McDonald’s All-American Sienna Betts — the 15th-seeded Wolves didn’t have the firepower to stave off the 18th-seeded Lambkins, who prevailed 61-44 in a second round playoff contest.
The loss for coach Josh Ulitzky’s Grandview team is incredibly early in the last decade-plus as it will be the first time the Sweet 16 doesn’t include the Wolves since way back in 2011. Since a second round loss that season, Grandview has won five state championships, made seven state finals and made it to at least the Great 8 12 times in that span.
Junior Sorrelle Kamgang scored 16 points, while junior Ava Chang added nine and junior Kendall Tracy had seven as the Wolves finished the season 13-10.
Fort Collins’ win prevented a Centennial League rematch in the Sweet 16, so it will be the Lambkins (17-7) who head to second-seeded Arapahoe (22-2) for a trip to the Great 8.
Fort Collins raced out to a 9-2 lead, only to see Grandview go on an 8-0 burst to close the opening quarter that featured four points from Kamgang, plus transition baskets off steals from sophomore K’Dence Thomas and Chang.
A 3-pointer from Annika VanDalen (who had a game-high 19 points) got Fort Collins off to a good start in the second quarter and the Lambkins build themselves a double-digit lead by halftime as the Wolves went cold offensively.
Grandview cut the deficit into single digits three times in the third quarter — the last at 32-23 on a midrange jumper from Kamgang — but the Wolves never got closer in the key junction of the game.
Junior Taylor Alcaraz hurt Grandview repeatedly in the last two quarters as she made all four of her 3-pointers — and half of Fort Collins’ total of eight — and the Lambkins went 8-for-10 from the free throw line in the final two minutes to close the contest out.
The Wolves expect to return the majority of the roster next season, as it had nine juniors — including top three scorers in Chang, Kamgang and Kendall Tracy — and just one senior in Aliya Zitek.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2026 CLASS 6A GIRLS STATE BASKETBALL 2ND ROUND
(18) FORT COLLINS 61, (15) GRANDVIEW 44
Score by quarters:
Ft. Collins 9 17 15 20 — 61
Grandview 10 7 11 16 — 44
FORT COLLINS (61)
Taylor Alcaraz 4 0-0 12, Morgan Bandhauer 5 0-0 11, Molly Keough 1 0-2 2, Annika VanDalen 5 8-9 19, Lydia Childs 3 4-6 11, Isa Hottman 1 0-0 2, Laney Matson 1 0-0 3, Maggie Lee 0 1-4 1. Totals 20 13-21 61.
GRANDVIEW (44)
Ava Chang 4 1-2 9, Amya Narducci 2 0-0 4, Sorrelle Kamgang 7 2-2 16, Aliya Zitek 1 2-2 4, Kendall Tracy 3 0-0 7, K’Dence Thomas 1 0-2 2, Brooke Sullivan 0 0-2 0, Faith Breen 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 5-10 44.
3-point field goals — Fort Collins (8): Taylor Alcaraz 4, Morgan Bandhauer, Lydia Childs, Laney Matson, Annika VanDalen. Grandview: Kendall Tracy. Total fouls — Fort Collins 12, Grandview 16. Fouled out — None. Technical fouls — None.