Holy Family Girls' Basketball Team Brings Home State Championship

The Holy Family Tigers brought home their ninth program title on Saturday, besting rival Kent Denver. (Photo by Brody Vonderhofen, courtesy of Holy Family High School)

The girls' basketball team at Holy Family High School in Broomfield might have given up losing for Lent this year, as the Class 4A team took home its ninth program title and second state championship after a 52-46 victory over its old Metropolitan League rival, Kent Denver.

After what could have been the most difficult schedule in the league, along with a number of injuries and other difficulties, Coach Mike Quintana couldn't help but see God's hand through it all.

"You never want to see kids get hurt; it's never a good thing, but God has his plan," Quintana said, dripping wet after his team doused him in the postgame locker room. "And I think what it taught us, and I want these girls to carry this one for the rest of their lives, is to just be present.

"Don't take things for granted, and when we lost Enyiah [Contreraz], it opened our eyes," he continued. "We lived every rep, every practice and shared every meal with happiness. We just enjoyed being around each other, and that's what it really was."

The game was close until the third quarter, when junior Priya Lucas, senior Alexcia Oaxaca and freshman Lorena Cover took a one-point lead and turned it into a twelve-point advantage going into the fourth quarter.

"We talked about sharing the ball, finding the open player and taking advantage of those opportunities that we can capitalize on," said Lucas. "I think we got in their heads and they got a little frustrated with themselves and with us, and we took advantage of it. We didn't let them or the officials get in our heads."

Though Oaxaca missed the first month of the season due to a knee surgery, she reached a season-high performance on Saturday, with five three-pointers and a total of 19 points scored.

"After the surgery, I knew I was going to come back, but I didn't know if I was going to come back the same, and I figured it out towards the end," she said. "Most of [the 3-point attempts] felt good off the hand, but there was one of them that I banked in; I thought I was going to get heat checked."

As the fourth quarter began, the Holy Family Tigers kept up the pressure, holding their lead despite Kent Denver senior Austin Duncan's 27 points scored, which kept the team in the game.

"You have to hand it to Kent, they did such a great job with scheduling this year," said Quintana, whose team won the regular season matchup by 15 in December. "They just got better, and they got quicker. They were right there with us. I think we just wore them out."