The Colorado High School Activities Association’s 6A Girls Basketball State Championship advanced to the semifinals after quarterfinal games held Friday at the Denver Coliseum. Only No. 1 Cherokee Trail among the top four seeds secured a spot in the next round.
In the first quarterfinal, No. 5 Northfield overcame No. 13 Riverdale Ridge with a score of 66-59. Despite Brihanna Crittendon scoring 41 points and setting a new state record for career points, Northfield was led by Madison Bethel’s 21 points and London Taylor’s contribution of 16 points and six rebounds.
No. 6 Denver East then defeated No. 3 Valor Christian, finishing with a score of 58-46. Mairead Hearty played a key role for Denver East, achieving a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Top-seeded Cherokee Trail moved past No. 9 Legend in their matchup, winning decisively at 66-39 behind Aaliyah Broadus’ performance of 29 points.
The final game saw No. 7 Highlands Ranch pull off an upset against No. 2 Arapahoe, ending with a score of 54-31 as Addie Moon led her team with 24 points.
The semifinals are scheduled for Thursday, March 12 at the Denver Coliseum: Cherokee Trail will face Northfield at 5:45 p.m., followed by Denver East against Highlands Ranch at 7:15 p.m. The championship game is set for Saturday, March 14.
Earlier rounds included several close contests and upsets, including Riverdale Ridge defeating Broomfield and Highlands Ranch advancing over Erie by wide margins.
After these results, only one top-four seed remains in contention as teams prepare for Thursday’s semifinal matchups.
