DENVER -- Caryn Jarocki has had a lot of state championship-winning teams in her long tenure at Highlands Ranch, but her latest might have been one of the bigger surprises.

Abundant with youth, Jarocki’s Falcons went through their growing pains and went on to finish the season as the best team in Class 6A girls basketball, the year before it goes down to the 5A classification.

Seventh-seeded Highlands Ranch held off a spirited rally from fifth-seeded Northfield — a first-time state championship hopeful — for a 54-51 victory that brought Jarocki and the program its eighth all-time title.

“We knew we could do it, but at the beginning of the season, I could not have told you we would be standing here right now,” said Jarocki, the state’s all-time winningest girls coach whose team finished a 25-3 season. “This team kept fighting. We had 63 practices, 28 games and we never took a day off. We just kept grinding to get better and they did it. They believed.”

For a team that hadn’t played on the biggest stage before, Highlands Ranch’s young lineup — which included two sophomore starters plus one freshman, one junior and one senior — looked like they belonged against a Northfield team with some experience, as it had played for the 2024 5A state title.

Sophomore Jayda Rogers helped the Falcons get their legs under them in the opening quarter, as she tallied 10 of her 11 points to stake her team to a four-point lead. The advantage grew to seven by halftime as junior Katie Moon (15 in the game) had four points in the period and sophomore Kimora Banks-Thomas got going.

The Falcons handled the high-pressure, fast-paced style well for the first 16 minutes.

“We have two different styles of play, so boxing out, playing our game and not really playing sped up was really key,” Rogers said.

Northfield — which knocked off top-seeded Cherokee Trail in the semifinals — began to impose itself in the second half, though the Nighthawks found it difficult to make big inroads into the deficit.

That’s because of some big shots hit by the Falcons, which included a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter from Banks-Thomas, who finished with a game-high 20.

“They are a physical team and they are really athletic, so you know they are going to get into you,” she said. “Pulling out those big shots when you need them is big.”

But nothing could quite put away Northfield, which got 18 points from junior London Taylor, plus 11 from junior Delaney Dennis and nine from junior Paris Taylor.

The Nighthawks would not go away in the fourth quarter and whittled the lead all the way down to one point inside the final minute, which set up a frenetic finish.

Two clutch free throws from Highlands Ranch freshman Na’Ziah Newbins made it a 54-51 lead with just 4.7 seconds left and Northfield tried to feed Dennis in the corner for a 3-pointer that could have sent the game to overtime, but the pass sailed over her head and out of bounds.

Highlands Ranch ran out the final seventh-tenths of a second on the ensuing inbound to secure the title and lift the program into a tie with Mullen for the second-most titles in Colorado history behind Eads, which has nine.

“I wanted this so bad for the kids,” Jarocki said with pride.

The players wanted to win it just as bad for Jarocki, who hadn’t tasted a state championship victory since 2011, which went with others in 2008, 2007, 2006, 2002, 2001 and 2000.

“I feel like we won one for her legacy, but she’s building one for us as well,” Banks-Thomas said. “We bought into her and she bought into us. She adjusted game plans, we listened to her and this is what happens. That’s a great coach and we’re a great team.”

DENVER — It wouldn’t be Colorado if we didn’t have critical fire danger conditions followed by heavy snow just a day later. But that’s exactly the scenario that will play out across parts of the state as we head into the tail end of the work week.

Warm and dry conditions were felt Thursday across the Denver metro as temperatures reached the upper 60s to low 70s. Windy conditions along and south of I-70 also gave way to high fire danger, with unseasonably warm temperatures in the 70s and near 80 degrees in far southeast Colorado.

Those winds, along low humidity values, prompted the National Weather Service in Boulder to issue another red flag warning from Castle Rock all the way down south the New Mexico border until 6 p.m. Thursday.

But in true Colorado fashion, weather conditions will drastically change late Thursday night into Friday, when a powerful winter storm swings into Colorado, ushering in heavy mountain snow that will then spread across the plains Friday.

What’s going to happen in the mountains?

A winter weather advisory will go into effect for the next 24 hours starting midnight Thursday for the High Mountain Parks, the Front Range Foothills, the Park Range mountains, and the Palmer Divide. Between 3 inches and up to a foot of snow are forecast for the area, with the heaviest amounts falling in the southern foothills.

The northern and southern Front Range foothills, as well as Castle Rock, Elizabeth, and Larkspur will be under a winter weather advisory for about 24 hours starting midnight Thursday. Total snow accumulations for these areas could be anywhere between 3 inches and a foot of snow, according to the National Weather Service.

The biggest impacts from this snowstorm, however, will be felt across the Front Range mountains, the Medicine Bow Range, the mountains of Summit County and the Mosquito Range.

A winter storm warning will be in effect midnight Thursday through midnight Friday for those areas due to gusty winds reaching 40 mph. Blowing and drifting snow along the higher mountain passes will make for extremely treacherous driving conditions. The NWS said Thursday they expect between 6 and 15 inches of snow to fall along these areas.

Weather service officials said localized snowfall rates of 1-2 inches per hour can be expected under the heaviest showers/snow bands, “most likely along and south of the I-70 mountain/foothills corridor, and across the Palmer Divide.”

Those traveling to the mountains or foothills will encounter a tough morning commute Friday, with evening ski travel also particularly impacted by the evening, according to the NWS.

How much snow can we expect in the Denver metro?

So far, it looks like it’ll be a slushy and snowy Friday for the Denver metro area, according to Denver7 chief meteorologist Lisa Hidalgo.

The shift will begin late Thursday night when the cold front moves over into the plains, bringing temperatures down to near freezing by sunrise.

NWS officials said a few rain/snow showers are possible overnight for the urban corridor, mainly north of Denver, “but almost all of the snow will hold off until after daybreak Friday.”

“Friday morning will see the bulk of the impacts as steady snow develops across the I-25 corridor and becomes heavier in our mountains and foothills,” they wrote in Thursday’s forecast discussion.

Between a trace to 2 inches of snow are expected for Denver, with heavier snowfall totals south and west of the metro, according to the NWS.

"Overall, it looks like light amounts of snowfall ... should be pretty slushy here for our area; it's just been so warm lately," said Denver7 meteorologist Stacey Donaldson. "If you are skiing in the next couple of days, some great powder on the way."

Friday’s snowstorm will break Denver’s long spell of unseasonably warm temperatures this winter. The last time the Mile High City had any measurable snowfall was on Jan. 25.

“Commuters should prepare for slick conditions in the morning regardless,” forecasters wrote Thursday, adding northern portions of the I-25 corridor will be less favored.

The plains will also see limited accumulations as temperatures hovering in the mid to upper 30s, “despite a likely band of greater precipitation extending northeast from the Palmer Divide into the Morgan, Washington and Logan county lines, forecasters said.

Highs on Friday for the I-25 corridor will be in the mid to upper 30s, with temps below freezing in the high country.

Milder and drier weather will return Saturday with a high of 50, and the warming trend continues through Monday, with a high for Denver of 71 degrees.

Colorado snow totals

Here are possible “expected” and “high-end” snow totals across Colorado and the Denver metro area from the NWS.

Here are links to cold weather shelter information and other resources for Denver metro communities.

The City of Denver has activated its cold weather shelter plan.

"All shelter sites are pet-friendly and provide food, showers, and blankets. Transportation will run daily from downtown shelters to cold weather shelter sites. Security will be present at each site, and shelters will deactivate once weather improves," wrote the city in a news release.

Here's additional information from the city on places to find shelter: