PARKER | The Vista PEAK Prep girls basketball team’s quest for a third trip to the Sweet 16 in four seasons came up short with a loss at Legend Saturday afternoon.
The 24th-seeded Bison — the last of the teams to receive a first round bye in the Class 6A postseason — traveled to play the ninth-seeded Titans (last season’s state runner-up) and couldn’t overcome a slow start in a 67-30 loss.
Vista PEAK Prep fell behind 13-0 in the opening quarter and was limited to single digits of offense in three of four quarters. Seniors Amaya Nance and Knakai Starks scored seven points apiece to lead coach Howard Payne’s team, which went 11-13 overall and finished the season with double-digit wins for a fifth straight season.
Legend moved into a Sweet 16 matchup against eighth-seeded Columbine, with the winner headed to the Denver Coliseum for the Great 8.
Vista PEAK Prep fell behind double-digits in the opening minutes and first got on the scoreboard on a 3-pointer from sophomore Zaria Rogers, but only got a putback by Starks in the final 4 minutes, 45 seconds, of the quarter to trail 22-5.
The Bison’s best burst came in the last two minutes of the third quarter when it scored seventh of the final eight points, which included back-to-back baskets from freshman Laila Armstrong.
Vista PEAK Prep heads into next season in search of its first postseason win since the opening round of the 2024 then-5A state tournament against Durango.
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
(9) LEGEND 67, (24) VISTA PEAK PREP 30
Score by quarters:
Vista PEAK Prep 5 8 14 3 — 30
Legend 22 18 13 14 — 67
VISTA PEAK PREP (30)
Jade Hibbler 3 0-0 6, Amaya Nance 2 2-4 7, Mady Eltzroth 1 0-0 2, Zaria Rogers 1 0-0 3, Knakai Starks 3 1-1 7, Laila Armstrong 2 1-2 5, Hope Lockhart 0 0-0 0, Ava Eltzroth 0 0-0 0, Scully Correa 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 4-7 30
LEGEND (67)
Tatum Burke 4 2-2 10, Lucy Thompson 4 0-1 11, Malie Starns 3 2-3 10, Addyson Law 5 0-2 13, Marley Pickett 2 1-2 5, Rhya Matoush 1 3-4 5, Jaida Reuter 1 2-4 4, Ruby Davis 1 2-5 4, Amya Sparks 1 1-2 3, Addison LeSage 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 13-25 67
3-point field goals — Vista PEAK Prep (2): Amaya Nance, Zaria Rogers. Legend (8): Addyson Law 3, Lucy Thompson 3, Maile Starns 2. Total fouls — Vista PEAK Prep 16, Legend 15. Fouled out — None. Technical fouls — None.