FORT COLLINS — The goal is reached: Three times a champion.
Holy Family coach Ron Rossi’s coaching philosophy preaches hard work, discipline and a never-say-die mentality that shows in the way his girls play for him.
The Tigers, who won for an emotional Rossi in 2008 — his first title in a 30-plus-year coaching career — then again last year, capped off No. 3 with a 45-29 victory over Colorado Springs Christian on Saturday in the Class 3A title game at Moby Arena.
“We talked last year about scoops of ice cream, and we’ve done the banana split, because that takes three scoops,” Rossi said. “This one is just as sweet as the first two.”
The cherry on top for the Tigers (26-1) was that this win came against the one team that not only beat them during the regular season, but also won their tournament in December.
“We wanted to beat them so bad,” junior Taylor Helbig said. “We wanted revenge, and this is such a great feeling.”
As it had throughout the tournament, Holy Family tested C.S. Christian with full-court pressure defense. The quicker pace the Lions were able to handle in the December matchup was quite different on the bigger stage. Coach Lisa Guhl’s team made uncharacteristic turnover after turnover. Although Holy Family led only 9-2 after one quarter, the tone was set and C.S. Christian played from behind all night.
“We had a lot of 2-foot layups we missed and turned the ball over a lot, and you can’t do that against a team like Holy Family,” Guhl said.
Said Rossi: “The purpose of the press is to make people play fast and hurried. People are picking up pivot feet, making passes they don’t normally make. And when you have the depth and confidence in all the players you bring in, that is huge.”
C.S. Christian erased a 24-12 halftime deficit and clawed back to within 32-25 going to the fourth quarter, but any momentum the Lions thought they had was quickly erased by Helbig, who hit the first of long back-to-back 3-pointers to stretch the lead back to double digits.
“I just tried to do what I could to help the team,” said Helbig, who earned tournament MVP honors from The Denver Post. “The shots were wide-open, so I just took them.”
Sarah Talamantes, who missed the first game against C.S. Christian, finished with a game-high 13 points, Helbig had 12 and sophomore sharpshooter Megan Chavez had seven.
The Lions (26-1) were led by Brianne Vande Griend’s nine points.
Holy Family 9 15 8 13 — 45 C.S. Christian 2 10 13 4 — 29
Holy Family — Coogan 1 0-0 2, Helbig 4 0-0 12, Wilson 2 2-4 6, Talamantes 5 2-2 13, Sprenger 0 0-0 0, Chavez 2 2-2 7, Giltner 0 2-2 2, Gutierrez 0 1-2 1, Williamson 1 0-0 2, Johansson 0 0-0 0, Metzger 0 0-0 0, Loccricchio 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 9-12 45.
C.S. Christian — Bultje 2 2-2 7, Vande Griend 3 3-4 9, J.Guhl 0 0-2 0, S.Guhl 2 0-0 6, Heckman 0 0-1 0, Kenney 2 2-2 7, Mulitauopele 0 0-2 0, Luff 0 0-0 0, Howard 0 0-0 0, Chapman 0 0-0 0, West 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 7-13 29.
3-pt. goals: Holy Family — Helbig 4, Talamantes, Chavez. C.S. Christian — S.Guhl 2, Bultje, Kenney.
Jon E. Yunt: 303-954-1354 or jyunt@denverpost.com
3A girls all-tournament team
Mary Brinton, Pagosa Springs, Jr.
Taylor Helbig, Holy Family, Jr.
Sarah Talamantes, Holy Family, Jr.
Brianne Vande Griend, C.S.C., Sr.
Alex Wilson, Holy Family, Sr.
MVP: Taylor Helbig
