AURORA | Eighth-seeded Smoky Hill became the only city team to advance to the second round of the Class 5A girls state basketball tournament, as the Buffaloes turned back No. 9 Liberty 49-41 Tuesday night.
With the victory, the Buffaloes (10-14) created an all-Aurora second round matchup, as they will play at top-seeded Regis Jesuit (21-2) at 7 p.m. Friday night.
Smoky Hill’s victory was historic, as it marked the program’s first postseason victory in nine seasons. The Buffaloes had lost seven straight postseason contests dating back to a second-round victory over Coronado in the second round of the 2004 5A playoffs.
Sarah Milafsky made five 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 24 points for Smoky Hill, while Brooke Zimmerman had 10 points and 14 rebounds and Brittany Czarnek added eight points.
Aurora’s two traveling 5A first-round participants went down to defeat, as ninth-seeded Cherokee Trail lost a 51-45 decision at No. 8 Pine Creek and No. 12 Rangeview suffered a 74-27 defeat at No. 5 Loveland.
Vista PEAK’s debut in the 4A postseason was a rough one, as the Bison were knocked out with a 65-18 loss at No. 5 Longmont.
(8) SMOKY HILL 49, (9) LIBERTY 41
Score by quarters:
Liberty 13 10 8 10 — 41
Smoky Hill 11 6 15 17 — 49
SMOKY HILL (49)
Sarah Milafsky 6 7-8 24, Brittany Czarnek 3 2-3 8, Armani Robbins 1 0-0 2, Taylor Ruby 0 0-0 0, Brooke Zimmerman 2 6-7 10, Brynell Yount 1 3-8 5, Taylor Brittmon 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 18-26 49.
3-point field goals — Smoky Hill (5): Sarah Milafsky 5.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
GIRLS STATE BASKETBALL PLAYOFF SCOREBOARD (FIRST ROUND)
CLASS 5A
No. 8 Pine Creek 51, NO. 9 CHEROKEE TRAIL 45
NO. 8 SMOKY HILL 49, No. 9 Liberty 41
No. 5 Loveland 74, NO. 12 RANGEVIEW 27
CLASS 4A
No. 5 Longmont 65, NO. 12 VISTA PEAK 18