Slow starts have been a problem for the Arvada West girls basketball team during the final few weeks of the regular season.

Senior Mikey Kenney made sure the Wildcats didn't have a similar problem Wednesday night in a first round playoff game against visiting Overland.

Kenney hit her first four shots, including a three-pointer, as Arvada West raced out to a huge first quarter lead en route to a 61-47 victory. The Wildcats (18-6), seeded eighth in the Carol Callan Region, advance to play top-seeded ThunderRidge on Friday night in the second round.

"We came out faster than normal," said Kenney, who finished with a team-best 16 points. "We've been having trouble during the early part of games recently, so we definitely wanted to step it up."

Kenney's nine first-quarter points were part of a 16-2 run that put Arvada West in control for good. The Wildcats led 22-6 after one quarter and stretched the lead to 35-14 by the half.

Arvada West's defense caused tons of problems for the ninth-seeded Trailblazers (8-16), who turned the ball over 23 times in the first 16 minutes.

Overland finished with 34 turnovers for the game, but the Trailblazers made a spirited comeback in the fourth quarter behind standout sophomore Deidra Smith.

After scoring 11 of Overland's 15 third-quarter points, Smith helped put together a 14-5 run to start the fourth quarter that cut the deficit to 54-43 with 2:51 left to play.

That made things uncomfortable enough that Arvada West coach Tim Slabach started substituting back in his starters, who had sat for much of the fourth quarter.

A 6-0 burst during the next 1:50 put the Wildcats back in control for good. Kenney, Taylor Hendrickson and Athena Lopez each had a bucket during the run.

"I don't think it was a case where we started looking ahead. I think Overland just didn't quit," Slabach said. "You can't start looking past anyone at this level because it will cost you. (Overland's) a good team, and they kept their intensity up."

Smith finished with 28 points and 18 rebounds for the Trailblazers, who also received an 11-rebound, seven-point effort Deserae Shields.

Hendrickson added 10 points for Arvada West, which has won seven of its past nine games.

"We know we've got a major task ahead of us in playing ThunderRidge at their place," Slabach said. "They're a great program. We just need to keep our kids confidence up and know we can play with them."

Overland 6 8 15 18 - 47

Arvada West 22 13 14 12 - 61

O- Simone Evans 2 4-5 8, Melina Hodzie 0 1-2 1, Ivari Henderson 1 1-2 3, Deidra Smith 10 8-10 28, Deserae Shields 2 3-6 7. Totals 15 17-25 47.

AW- Carrie Christopher 2 0-0 4, Kelsey Anderson 2 2-2 7, Erin Slay 3 2-2 9, Mikey Kenney 7 0-0 16, Athena Lopez 2 1-2 5, Ali Rose 1 0-0 2, Alicia Riemer 1 1-2 3, Lindsey Ingle 1 0-0 2, Taylor Hendrickson 3 4-5 10, Calene Carrano 1 0-0 3. Totals 23 10 61.

Three-point goals- AW 5 (Kenney 2, Anderson, Slay, Carrano).