4A girls basketball semifinals: Holy Family, D’Evelyn advance to state title game
Photo: Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Sports Information
The top-4 seeds — Holy Family, D’Evelyn, University and Lutheran — in the Class 4A girls basketball state tournament battled Thursday for spots in the 4A girls basketball title game. Top-seeded Holy Family and No. 2 D’Evelyn were victorious to set up the championship game 10 a.m. Saturday, March 11, at the Denver Coliseum.
(2) D’Evelyn 49, (3) University 44
DENVER — D’Evelyn junior Macy Scheer got a timely ‘shooter’s touch’ to help send the Jaguars to the Class 4A girls basketball state championship game coming up Saturday.
D’Evelyn defeated University 49-44 Thursday at the Denver Coliseum to advance the Jaguars to their first girls basketball state championship game since 2013.
“It’s amazing,” Scheer said of the undefeated Jaguars (27-0 record) getting to the title game.
The No. 2-seeded Jaguars were clinging to a 41-39 lead with under two minutes to play against No. 3 University (24-3). Scheer had just missed the front-end of a 1-and-1 at the free-throw line.
The next trip down the court Scheer fired up a 3-pointer from the corner.
“In coaching that is called a ‘no, no, yes’,” D’Evelyn coach Chris Olson said of Scheer launching the 3-pointer with a 2-point lead. “These kids just love these moments. Apparently she didn’t like the moment right before. Making the free throws would have been nice.”
Scheer’s dramatic 3-pointer rattled around the rim before eventually going through the cylinder for the biggest basket of the state semifinal game, giving D’Evelyn a 44-39 lead.
“I just took it and I was confident,” Scheer said of her huge 3-pointer with 1:35 left that pushed the Jaguars back up to a 5-point lead. “I was just praying it would go in.”
All four of D’Evelyn’s 3-pointers came in the second half from four different players — Scheer, senior Rebecca Taylor, junior Ingrid Dalla and sophomore Ellie McMann — each made one 3-pointer after halftime. The Jaguars shot 4-for-17 from distance for the game.
“I was crazy happy for her,” D’Evelyn junior Peyton Marvel said of Scheer’s 3-pointer. “I know she has been struggling with her 3s. I was insanely happy that she hit that. It helped the whole team get more energy.”
D’Evelyn struggled from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter going 5-for-11, but the Jaguars made five free throws in the final minute to seal the victory. Scheer finished with 12 points and Taylor had 9 points in the win.
“They were defintely a tough team and we had to work,” Marvel said of University. “I just knew we could always stay ahead if we just kept working. Coach (Olson) always says that we just need to win by one point.”
Marvel — coming off an outstanding 36 points and 14 rebounds in the state quarterfinals last week — finished with a game-high 22 points, including 17 points in the first half.
University was led by senior Taryn Kravig (15 points) and sophomore Addison Harding (12 points).
It will be the third state championship game for D’Evelyn’s longtime coach. Olson brought home back-to-back 4A state runner-up trophies in 2012 and 2013. Thursday was the Jaguars’ first trip back to the Final Four in a decade.
“This is their moment. This is their run,” Olson said of D’Evelyn heading to the program’s third state championship game. “As coaches, we’ll keep their energy up and let them have this experience.”
(1) Holy Family 31, (4) Lutheran 20
DENVER — It was a first for legendary basketball coach Ron Rossi on Thursday afternoon at the Denver Coliseum.
Holy Family was shutout in the first quarter of the Class 4A girls basketball state semifinal against Lutheran, but the top-seeded Tigers still managed to pullout a 31-20 victory.
“A zero in the first quarter. How do you do that?,” Rossi said after Holy Family won the defensive battle against the Lions. “It was just a great defensive effort. Our kids played with heart and executed when they needed to. They kept believing.”
Holy Family (24-3 record) finished the game on a 12-0 run to punch its ticket to the state championship game against No. 2 D’Evelyn. Lutheran held a 20-19 lead when senior Raelyn Kelty drained a 3-pointer with 4:50 left in the fourth quarter.
It would be the final points for the Lions (23-4).
Holy Family junior Essynce Contreraz had a pair of big steals in the final minute to fittingly wrap up the victory with stellar defense.
“They were sitting out on top and I just started to over pressure on them,” Contreraz said of the back-to-back steals. “I think both of those steals grabbed the momentum and helped seal the game.”
Contreraz went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the final minute.
“Essynce was just awesome,” Rossi said of his junior guard.
Junior Sawyer Dana started the 12-0 run for Holy Family with a 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter. Senior Fiona Snahall had a double-double for the Tigers with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Holy Family and Lutheran had met early in the season with the Lions taking a 43-31 victory.
“It was a great win for us and a little revenge,” Rossi said.
Holy Family and Lutheran have combined for 11 girls state basketball champions. The Tigers claimed six 3A tiles during a remarkable 7-year stretch from 2008 to 2014.
The Lions won a mix of 2A and 3A state championships dating back to 1985. Their latest title was in 2016 with a 3A state title victory over Manitou Springs.
Saturday’s state championship match-up was a vision for Rossi and D’Evelyn coach Chris Olson.
“It is pretty wild. In the summer we usually scrimmage each other,” Rossi said of facing D’Evelyn. “We both talked it and said we would meet in the (state) finals so we didn’t scrimmage this year, and here we are.”
