Holy Family High School’s girls basketball coach, Ron Rossi, can wear his Grateful Dead tie once again. It’s a promising tradition so far.
His Tigers turned back Resurrection Christian 48-42 in the state 4A girls basketball semifinals on Friday at the Denver Coliseum. The Tigers (25-2) will defend their state title against Riverdale Ridge at 5:45 p.m. on Saturday, March 9.
“It’s our ninth final,” Rossi said. “I’ve never lost (a state finals game) in that tie. It’s corny. But when you don’t lose, you don’t change anything.”
Olivia Klein led the Cougars (23-4) with 15 points. Callie Gillespie added 11, and Caz McGraw had five. Gracie Ward tossed in 11 points for Holy Family. Julia Hodell had nine.
Holy Family’s defense held Resurrection Christian to eight field goals in its first 30 attempts from the floor.
In the process, the Tigers picked up a fourth-quarter layup from Julia Hodell, a key, 3-point basket from Sawyer Dana and three free throws down the stretch from Essynce Contreraz.
The Tigers outscored Resurrection Christian 15-3 in the last three minutes of the third quarter.
“It’s good to know that we can play together,” said Contreraz, who finished with 14 points, tops on her squad. “Julia and I have played together since our freshman year. We’ve been here twice. Having that, that says a lot. In a close game, you have to have that chemistry.”
Hodell said there was one key to the Tigers this season.
“When we get on a run, we’re going,” she said. “We need to have a lot of runs tomorrow. We need to be confident in each other.”
“It’s called ‘Holy Family tradition,’” Rossi said. “To come here, it’s part of our season, we think. They treasure the chance to come here.”
Big task in more ways than one
Rossi’s wardrobe aside, the Tigers have to figure out how to stop Riverdale’s Brihanna Crittendon. She stands 6-foot-3.
The sophomore, who has fielded numerous collegiate offers at the NCAA Division I level, scored 36 points in the Ravens’ semifinal win over D’Evelyn.
“I’ve never played against anyone like her before,” Hodell said. “It’s going to be a good challenge. If our whole team brings the defensive intensity we had today and especially on Bri, we should be able to win. It’s a matter of being calm.”
Rossi had one idea for game strategy.
“We’re going to take growing pills,” Rossi joked. “We’ve got a plan. We’ve been waiting the whole season to play them. It’s going to be a dynamite game. It’s the talls vs. the smalls, basically.”