From the moment the girls’ basketball season began on December 5th, 2025, the team was setting records and finding groundbreaking success. Under head coach Matthew Johnston and captains Kara Dougherty, ‘26, and Ruby Gustafson, ‘26, the girls’ basketball team defied odds this season and found themselves in the playoffs for only the second time in the last nine seasons.
After graduating a large senior class of six last year, the team came into this season prepared to rebuild. Although they had many returning players, their senior class was half as large, with only three seniors, so they knew the season ahead would look different than the one prior.
However, this season turned out to be a very similar performance to last year’s. Last year, the team finished with a 14-10 record and second place in the Rocky Mountain League, and this year, the season came to a close with a 15-10 record and another second-place finish in the Rocky Mountain League.
Unlike last year, though, the Panthers had an extra game this season. Last year, the team lost in the first round of the playoffs but, this year, the team won the first round of the playoffs, beating Rocky Mountain High School 42-38 to advance to the second round. Although their season ended with a loss to Cherokee Trail High School in the second round of the playoffs, their win over Rocky Mountain marked the team’s first playoff victory in 15 years.
In a similar manner, Lexi Oder, ‘27, set a few records of her own. This season, Oder averaged 18.5 points per game, the highest on the team. With this average, she scored a total of 443 points this season and broke Boulder High Girls Basketball’s all-time scoring record, despite being only a junior. She is also noted as the only player in Boulder High Girls Basketball history to score 1,000 points. With another year left in the program, Oder will just keep breaking her own record, setting the bar higher and higher for players to come.
When asked about the season, Oder reflected on the team’s bond more so than her own success, saying, “This year we put a lot of emphasis on building trust, both with each other and with our coaches. We came together and found our team chemistry. Our trust in each other was tested multiple times in close games, like when we played Fairview, Rocky Mountain, and Evergreen, but our faith in each other and all the hard work we’ve put in during practices helped us pull through and win even when the odds were against us.”
As Oder’s words make evident, the team had such great success this year thanks to their ability to work together, a result of the time they have dedicated to cultivating close bonds.
Along with the team’s first playoff win in 15 years and Oder’s all-time scoring record, the team had many notable moments this season. On senior night, the team crushed Westminster 56-29, an exciting moment for the small senior class.
Additionally, on January 15th, the Panthers beat their biggest rivals, the Fairview Knights. With the stands packed as the game was sent to overtime, the Panthers pulled ahead, winning 50-43 after being close to tied the whole game. This marked the third year in a row that the Panthers beat the Knights.
In terms of what’s to come, next year could be an even better season, with a run deeper into the playoffs. The team will have at least eight seniors, making them incredibly experienced, and Remi Kingdom, ‘27, will be coming into next season fewer than 300 points away from the 1000-point mark. Overall, next season can be expected to bring more records, more wins, and more exciting games for fans to watch.
In the end, the 2025-2026 Girls Basketball season was groundbreaking for the Panthers and a fantastic way to send off the two graduating seniors who have been with the team for years.
