Broomfield's Holy Family shocks 4A boys bracket, wins state title as 17 seed
Mar. 11—DENVER — Move over UMBC, move over Saint Peter's, there's a new contender for March's Greatest Cinderella of All-Time (G.C.O.A.T., if you will).
No. 17 seed Holy Family out of Broomfield completed a basketball-miracle run by claiming the Class 4A boys state championship with a 53-43 win over 2-seed Resurrection Christian on Saturday afternoon at the Denver Coliseum.
The run to a championship that included upsets over 1-seed Kent Denver, 8-seed Colorado Academy and now the second-seeded Cougars is only surprising to those on the outside.
"I heard a lot of Cinderella stories about our team, but we knew we had it in us this whole time," Holy Family's Gabe Tafoya said.
But it's not like this Tigers team was one of those lower seeds that got hot near the end of the regular season and was playing its best basketball heading into the tournament.
Holy Family was 2-8 in its final 10 games of the regular season and even one trip to the Coliseum for the Great 8 seemed unlikely.
"A month ago, we were disjointed," Tigers coach Pete Villeco told The Denver Gazette. "We were (at) rock bottom. We were just trying to figure things out and these guys stuck together. We kept telling them that adversity's a gift. I don't even know if I believed it."
But Holy Family's ability to win in multiple ways is crucial in March and that was on full display in the title game.
The Tigers came out hot from 3-point range, making more threes and twos in the first half to jump, but only up by one they knew they were trading baskets and had to change something.
In the third quarter, Holy Family ramped up its ball pressure even more and forced a handful of steals, converting them into easy looks on the other end.
"One of our keys was: how can we get an easy basket? How can we get a layup, a free throw, an open three? Any free basket was going to be really hard to come by and those (points off turnovers) were gold in that third quarter," Villeco said.
After some late free throws in the final minutes to ice the game, Tafoya wound up as the game's leading scorer with 18 points. Senior point guard Eric Quintana was the other Tiger in double figures with 10.
The icing on the cake for Holy Family, though, came in the game before theirs when the school's girls team also won the 4A title as the 1-seed, completing a sweep that no one saw coming.
"It's insane," Tafoya said.
------
Grandview repeats as 6A girls champions, this time as an 11-seed
Grandview coach Josh Ulitzky wasn't making the same mistake twice.
Uliztky took star sophomore Sienna Betts out of a game earlier this season when she was dealing with foul trouble and it resulted in a loss. But when Betts picked up her fourth foul with the Wolves clinging to a slim lead in the fourth quarter of the 6A girls state championship game, Ulitzky didn't flinch.
"At no point did I consider taking her off the floor," Ulitzky said.
It more than paid off.
Betts' interior presence on defense continued to stifle 4-seed Monarch and after she wiped away her tears, she was able to knock down a pair of free throws in the final minute ats 11-seed Grandview won its second straight 6A title with a 38-28 win.
"We played the toughest schedule in the state and I feel like that's paid dividends for us," Ulitzky said.
This is a very different team from last year, though.
The 2022 Wolves were led by Betts' older sister, Lauren, who was the No. 1 recruit in the country and now a freshman at Stanford.
This is a much younger team led by a few key sophomores and even one freshman starter. But senior guard Isa Dillehay has played a massive role this season and made a handful of unselfish plays on both ends to ensure the win.
"She is the heart and soul of our team without a doubt," Ulitzky said. "Sienna is the leader, but she is the heart and soul. We go as Isa goes.
"All that kid does is win state championships. She's got two for us (in basketball) and one in soccer. She's pretty special."
Dillehay is undoubtedly one of the shortest players to take the floor all weekend at the Coliseum, but in the end she was the one carrying the championship trophy off the floor with the biggest smile on her face.
"This means so much to me," Dillehay told The Denver Gazette. "I guess it kinda shows that I filled into my (leadership) role and that I am an impact player. People last year did not believe that.
"Two-peat baby, let's go!"
------
Full Championship Game results
6A
Boys: No. 4 Denver East 82, No. 3 Fossil Ridge 61
Girls: No. 11 Grandview 38, No. 4 Monarch 28
5A
Boys: No. 2 Mesa Ridge 71, No. 1 Air Academy 68
Girls: No. 2 Roosevelt 54, No. 4 Windsor 44
4A
Boys: No. 17 Holy Family 53, No. 2 Resurrection Christian 43
Girls: No. 1 Holy Family 49, No. 1 D'Evelyn 44
