Monarch finishes runner-up in 6A
Mighty Grandview repeats at Mohi's expense
Monarch High School’s quest for its first girls basketball state title ended in the shadows of Grandview and its 6-foot-3 star Sienna Betts Saturday afternoon. The Wolves, in- stead, are back-to-back champs.
Following the 38-28 Class 6A finals loss at the Denver Coliseum, teary-eyed senior point guard Natalie Guanella said “the feeling sucks right now”. Naturally. But she believed the program’s first appearance in a championship game in a decade will be cherished more fully when the pain of coming so close to basketball glory subsides.
“In 10 years from now, we’re going to look back on this season with nothing but positive memories,” she said. Though it may just feel like it’ll take 10 years right now, adding, “we’re just so happy we had this season together.”
In the end, it was cruel timing for the Coyotes (26-2) to have their worst offensive performance of the season.
Hitting a wall in the finals — maybe made in part with the Wolves’ touted, four-star ESPN prospect in Betts— Monarch made just two shots in the second half, finishing 7 of 43 from the field.
Then there was this: A team that came in at 72% from the free throw line this winter missed eight free throws, finishing just 9 of 17 (53%).
“I think we were just a little off of our game offensively,” senior Caroline Walley said. “First half, we couldn’t get into our flow and Natalie was a lot of our offense. Then they figured it out and so the second half was even harder.”
Early, Guanella warmed up after an 0-for-5 start from the field, hitting four of her next six shots, scoring 12 straight for the Coyotes to put them ahead 1615 at the half.
Briefly, it’d brought them out of an offensive black hole and a start to the game that had seen them hit just one shot in 14 attempts. It’d also answered an early 10 points from Betts with a run from Guanella that saw her bury a 3-pointer a few steps back of the perimeter, then fearlessly attack the rim in spite of the Wolves’ shot-blocking marvel somewhere nearby. But again, it didn’t last. Guanella, with added attention her way after the break, looked for others to score and had just two shots and two points in the second half. Monarch still stretched its lead to five early in the third but Walley’s 3 with 5:54 left in the frame ended up being the team’s last field goal of the game.
Grandview (19-9) finished the game on a 21-6 run.
“Guanella was killing us in the first half,” Grandview coach Josh Ulitzky said. “Between Isa (Dillehay) and Lexi Yi, they just shut her down. We were just like, you guys got to lock her down and can’t leave her.”
Monarch went on a 20game winning streak to reach the finals, dominating the Front Range League for a third straight year, all while using a team brand of basketball that saw different players step up on a nightly basis.
“I was really proud of our team,” Monarch coach Mike Blakely said. “We played together as a team all year and played together as a team all four years. Those seniors came in when I came in and we went through the program together. I’m going to miss those kids. They’re really good kids. It’s hard to see them go because they built a really good program.”