BROOMFIELD — What rust?
The first game back after the holiday break is supposed to be full of turnovers, sloppy play and lots of whistles.
That wasn’t the case Saturday night in the championship game of Holy Family’s Tiger Tip-Off between the host Tigers and visiting Estes Park.
With just one practice under their belts after the break, two of Class 3A’s top four teams — Holy Family No. 1 and the Bobcats No. 4 — played a stellar game that would have gone to overtime had Alicia Stark’s layup for Estes Park at the buzzer actually stayed down and not spun out.
Holy Family stayed perfect with a 54-52 victory.
“We did the ‘dodge the bullet dance,’ ” Tigers coach Ron Rossi said.
Holy Family (6-0) jumped to a 49-40 lead early in the fourth quarter, but seven turnovers in the final eight minutes allowed the Bobcats to storm back.
Estes Park (6-2), which got a game-high 26 points from Kimmy Hansen, took the lead with 1:25 to play but quickly surrendered it when Dora Gills and Sarah Talamantes ran a perfect inbound play for an easy layup and the 53-52 lead.
“We can win by 30 a game, but it’s also nice to know we can handle the pressure,” said Gills, who finished with 16 points. “Now we know how to keep our cool.”
Junior Alex Wilson led the Tigers with 22 points.
Estes Park 16 13 11 12 — 52
Holy Family 14 17 16 7 — 54
Estes Park — Hansen 8 9-9 26, A. Stark 0 0-0 0, Morris 2 0-0 4, Fonken 1 0-2 2, K. Stark 5 1-4 12, Mardock 2 0-0 4, Slininger 0 0-0 0, Vander- Werf 1 0-2 2, Lawrence 1 0-0 2, Weitzel 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 10-17 52.
Holy Family — Helbig 0 0-2 0, Wilson 9 1-2 22, Talamantes 3 0-0 6, Gills 6 3-8 16, Lancaster 0 0-0 0, Jones 0 0-0 0, Coogan 1 0-0 2, Giltner 3 0-1 6, Sprenger 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 4-13 54.
3-pt. goals — Hansen, K. Stark; Wilson 3, Gills. Total fouls — Estes Park 11; Holy Family 13. Fouled out — None. Technicals — None.
Jon E. Yunt: 303-954-1354 or jyunt@denverpost.com
