Tigers girls back in a title game
When topseeded Holy Family girls basketball went down by one point with five minutes left in their Class 4A state Final Four game at the Denver Coliseum on Thursday, the ladies didn’t panic.
No, they did what they do best. They went on one final run.
Holy Family closed out the game — a contest marred by shooting woes for both the Tigers and No. 4 Lutheran — with a 12-0 run to send the Lions packing and secure their own spot for the state title game. A huge 3-pointer from junior small forward Sawyer Dana at the 4:03 mark catapulted them to victory, 3120.
Junior point guard Essynce Contreraz nailed four daggers from the free throw line down the stretch to seal the deal.
“Honestly, it’s just practice, practice, practice,” Contreraz said. “Every day in practice, we work on free throws. We work on everything and when it comes to situations like this, it just shows.”
Senior small forward Fiona Snashall led the Tigers with one of her famous double-doubles, netting 10 points and adding 12 boards, as Contreraz contributed another eight points with three assists.
The Tigers and Lions both overcame defense so suffocating, neither team could breathe during a 2-0 first quarter. Those two lone points didn’t belong to Holy Family. The late run and victory helped avenge an earlier loss to the Lions, one of Holy Family’s three setbacks this season, when it mattered most.
“We played them at the beginning of the season, and they played the same way — disciplined defense,” Contreraz said. “They played amazing defense. They played amazing offense too. At the end of the day, I mean, it just came down to defense. Both of our shots weren’t going down, and it just shows how much we really wanted this game.”
The decision over the Lions capped off a banner day for HFHS, who just a couple hours earlier saw the 17thseeded boys take down No. 4 Eagle Ridge Academy to solidify their place in their own title game.
On Saturday, the ladies will take the Coliseum court first when they face off with No. 2 D’evelyn at 10 a.m. The boys will follow at 11:45 against No. 2 Resurrection Christian. The girls will look to add title No. 7 to their resumes.
“It was 2014 (when) both teams won,” head coach Ron Rossi said. “That was at Air Force Academy. We won first and (boys coach Pete Villecco) won the second game. So I went up to after our game and I say, ‘Pete, it’s your turn.’ So after his game today, he says, ‘It’s your turn, Ron.’ We both laughed.”