Niwot girls basketball suffers season-ending loss in state tournament

Niwot High School girls basketball's first state tournament game in 11 years ended in disappointment on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at Aurora Central High School.

In a foul-filled affair, the Cougars entered halftime down 22-9 before putting up a valiant fight with their season on the line. Niwot began the third quarter on a 12-0 run to make things interesting but ultimately came up short when the final buzzer sounded, 35-33.

While the Cougar program took a massive step forward by reaching the Class 5A state tournament, coming up just short in the "play-in" round stung all the same. Still, Niwot head coach Todd Trobaugh was quick to lift his players' spirits following the loss.

"They're hurting," Trobaugh said. "We've got five seniors in there. This was a big moment for them to get to the playoffs. They're obviously a little crestfallen, but we tried to remind them that no Niwot team has been here in a decade or more. The shots didn't fall today for us, but they never quit playing. I couldn't be prouder of them."

The five seniors are point guard Thalia Almaraz, Peyton Rhodes, Madison Ackerman, Jiselle Sales, and Hadie Adams. Each helped Niwot secure its first 10-win season since 2016-17.

"I'm so proud," said Rhodes, who had two rebounds in her final high school game. "We did a lot of team building. We wanted to grow as a team and be good to each other, and that's what we did. It transferred onto the court."

Trobaugh credited his seniors for helping Niwot reach the state tournament and show well against Aurora Central.

"They helped this program take a huge step forward this year," Niwot's second-year head coach said of his senior class. "It's a process. It's step by step, so this was one step getting here. Another step (was) competing the way they did in a playoff game. They didn't quit."

Inconsistent shooting plagued the Cougars, as they shot only 20% (11-for-55) from the field against the Trojans. Almaraz and Sales each scored 10 points, freshman Alaina Loomis added seven, and Adams had three.

According to Trobaugh, Niwot's increased effort defensively helped fuel the Cougars' second-half surge.

"We started using our pressure to get our hands on the ball, and that's what I talked to them about at halftime," Trobaugh said. "It's not just enough to bring pressure. We got to get out and get our hands on the ball and start getting steals."

Almaraz's quick hands recorded six steals, and Sales' recorded five.

Looking ahead, Niwot should return several impact players, most notably standout freshmen Loomis and Alexis Austefjord. Others who could play bigger roles next season include juniors Ella Zechman, Payton Johnson, and Cyrena Allen, sophomore Diya Mehta, and freshman Kendall Toothaker.