Two of the biggest stars in the state will meet for the first time on the high school court in the Class 6A round of 16 on Wednesday night.

Five-star prospect Brihanna Crittendon of Riverdale Ridge and touted-freshman Reece Gilpatrick of Broomfield will be the headliners when the No. 3 Eagles host the No. 14 Ravens.

Even without that narrative, the game itself is set to be a doozy. Broomfield is having its best season in years. Riverdale Ridge is playing two classifications up after winning the 4A title last winter.

In this week’s look-in on big-school girls basketball, we’ll dive into a few interesting round of 16 matchups in 6A and 5A. Below that, we’ll take a quick look at the 32-team 4A bracket, which is set to start this weekend.

Class 6A (Wednesday)

No. 14 Riverdale Ridge at No. 3 Broomfield, 6:30 p.m.

Neither team had trouble in the opening round as Broomfield beat ThunderRidge by 25, and Riverdale Ridge beat Northfield by 19.

The third-ranked Eagles (23-1), winners of the Granite Peaks League, outscored the Grizzlies 24-5 in the first quarter of Round 1, eventually winning their 14th straight game of the season.

Riverdale Ridge (19-5), in the meantime, won its 12th straight game behind 32 points from Crittendon (27 PPG).

No. 10 Regis Jesuit at No. 7 Legend, 7 p.m.

When they played in January, the host-Titans (19-5) beat the Raiders (18-6) in overtime, 62-59. Grace Stanley had 17 points, six assists and four steals in the win. Iliana Greene scored a game-high 24 in the loss.

Legend beat Fossil Ridge by 15 in the opening round. Regis Jesuit beat Arapahoe by 21, outscoring the Warriors 25-4 in the first half.

No. 21 Ralston Valley at No. 5 Pine Creek, 6:30 p.m.

The 21st-ranked Mustangs (13-11) were the only non-favorite to win in 6A’s first round as they beat No. 12 Fruita Monument by 35.

Pine Creek (22-2) outscored Overland 25-6 in the third quarter of its 61-36 Round-1 victory.

The teams met on Dec. 5. The Eagles won, 47-43, as they didn’t allow the Mustangs to score a point in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Stewart (19.9 PPG, 10.4 RPG) had 21 points and 19 rebounds in the win.

Class 5A (Wednesday)

No. 11 Lutheran at No. 6 Mullen, 6 p.m.

Each standing 5-foot-11, Mullen’s Makenzie Jones (16 PPG, 5.7 RPG) and Berkley Schneider (12.8 PPG, 7.4 RPG) are two players who could have a major hand in how the bracket shakes out.

Jones, a sophomore, may be playing her the best basketball of her young career over the last few weeks. She had a career-high 32 points in an opening-round win over Glenwood Springs, shooting 14 of 18 from the field. It was the sixth time in her last seven games she scored at least 13 points on 50%-or-better shooting.

Schneider has been soaring on the defensive end. In the last five games of the regular season, she had at least two blocks and a steal in each.

No. 9 Montrose at No. 8 Durango, 7 p.m.

Montrose (20-4) swept the two-game season series over Durango (18-6). But its on the road here.

The Red Hawks beat the Demons by a combined eight points in wins in January and February. In their 49-46 overtime win on Feb. 19, they got 16 boards from junior Lilly Nelson, who almost had as many defensive rebounds (13) as Durango did as a team (14).

These same two schools face each other in the boys’ 5A round of 16. They play Tuesday night at Montrose.

No. 18 Thompson Valley at No. 2 Mead, 6 p.m.

Nobody had a more dominant performance than Mead (21-3) in 5A’s Round 1. The Mavericks (21-3) opened on a 22-0 run and gave up the fewest points 5A’s opening round, beating Aurora Central 55-13.

Thompson Valley (17-7) beat Palisade, 41-21.

This season, both of these teams were among the stingiest in the state. The Mavericks allowed 36 PPG, while the Eagles gave up 33 PPG.

Class 4A (first two rounds are Friday-Saturday)

Top seeds: University, Timnath, Eaton, Holy Family and Alamosa.

The top-seeded Bulldogs are 23-0. They closed strong ahead of the postseason, beating 3A No. 1 Resurrection Christian and 4A No. 4 Holy Family by double digits in two of their last three games.

Timnath (20-3) earned the second seed following its first 20-win season as a program. The Cubs lost to 5A No. 4 Roosevelt twice and to 4A No. 12 Kent Denver in their season opener. They have wins over No. 4 Holy Family (14-8), as well as No. 15 Berthoud, which is the second-highest ranked team in their opening group of four.

Eaton (15-8) is ranked third, with a resume that includes two-game sweeps against No. 14 Sterling, which is in its opening group of four, and No. 18 Valley. It also beat 5A No. 7 Frederick in December. Courtney Steinkamp leads the Reds in points (20.7) and rebounds (9.4)

Holy Family (14-8), at No. 4, is led by one of the best 3-point shooters in the class, Gracie Ward. The junior hit 46 3s in the regular season, the fourth-most in 4A. The Tigers have been to the 4A finals in each of the past two seasons, winning it all in 2023 before falling to now-6A Riverdale Ridge in ’24.

Alamosa (17-6) was on an eight-game winning streak before losing to 3A No. 2 Centauri in its final game of the regular season.

Other hosting teams (No. 6-8): Delta, Pagosa Springs and Peak to Peak.

The sixth-ranked Panthers (17-6) come into the postseason after winning their final 12 games. Among wins this season, they beat No. 3 Eaton twice, and No. 5 Alamosa and No. 8 Peak to Peak.

Pagosa Springs (16-7) is seventh. The Pirates split their two-game season series against No. 5 Alamosa and 3A No. 2 Centauri.

Peak to Peak (17-6), at No. 8, is led by McDonald’s All-American Alexandra Eschmeyer. She averaged 26.4 points and 13.7 rebounds. Last game, she scored the 2,000th point of her high school career.