Girls' and boys' 3A/2A playoff basketball capsules

3A Girls

At Moby Arena in Fort Collins

No. 4 St. Mary’s (21-4) vs. No. 12 Kent Denver (20-4), 5:30 p.m. Thursday

After losing three of its last four games to end the regular season, St. Mary’s is firing on all cylinders at the right time. The Pirates demolished Estes Park by 36 in the first round and shut down Valley 39-26 to advance to state, where they play Kent Denver in the quarterfinals. Point guard Gabi Florek is the only St. Mary’s player to average double figures in scoring at 13.2 points, but the Pirates use a smothering full-court press defense and convert turnovers into layups. Chloe Graves scores 35 percent of Kent Denver’s points, averaging 17.2.

2A Boys

At CSU-Pueblo

No. 1 Peyton (22-2) vs. No. 8 Sierra Grande (18-5), 7 p.m. Thursday

Peyton comes into this quarterfinal game riding a 20-game winning streak and the Panthers seem primed for a serious run at their first state title. What makes Peyton so dangerous is that it has three players averaging more than 15 points in Ethan Abello (20.6), Chris Epps (16.1) and Jared Watkins (15.3). Sierra Grande averaged 65 points this season and has four players averaging double figures, led by Tomas Vigil’s 15.5 points.

Click here to read about the top-ranked Panthers and their shot at a state title

2A Girls

At CSU-Pueblo

No. 3 Vanguard (23-1) vs. No. 6 Yuma (19-4), 1:15 p.m. Thursday

Aside from a Feb. 16 loss to Peyton, The Vanguard School has been perfect this season. The Coursers, who went winless in a state appearance last year, are looking to win multiple games this weekend behind a strong and balanced scoring attack. Senior Bailey Haist does a little bit of everything for Vanguard, including scoring 18.1 points per game, but the Coursers have a deep and talented roster and hope to advance to Saturday’s title game. Yuma, the Coursers' quarterfinals opponent, is led by Kiera Mekelburg’s 16 points per game.

No. 5 Peyton (20-4) vs. No. 4 Sangre de Cristo (22-2), 8:30 p.m. Thursday

The Panthers have a young, but balanced roster. Although there are only three seniors on the team, Peyton has five players who average at least seven points. Junior Shelby Patterson and sophomore Victoria Goodman are the catalysts for the Panthers, who will face a tough quarterfinals matchup. Sangre de Cristo hasn’t lost since Jan. 4 and pulled out a 66-65 overtime win over ECA to win its region. Kathryn New leads the way for the Thunderbirds, scoring 14.5 points per game.