Grandview senior Michaela Onyenwere already had all the individual accolades. A scholarship to UCLA. A McDonald’s All-American. Colorado Gatorade player of the year, twice.
Saturday night at the Denver Coliseum, Onyenwere capped off her illustrious high school career with a Class 5A state championship, pouring in 25 points to propel No. 2 Grandview to a 61-32 victory over No. 9 Lakewood and the program’s first state championship.
“I’ve been waiting four years for this, and all the hard work has finally paid off,” Onyenwere said. “I’m just so glad that I can do it with these group of girls, who have made me a better player on the court.”
In a fast-paced game from the opening tip, the underdog Tigers (22-6) hung tough for the first part of the first quarter. But Onyenwere and the Wolves (27-1) were soon flexing their athleticism in the open floor, and doing so often, during an 8-0 run to take an 18-9 lead into the second.
The next eight minutes were much of the same, with Grandview — which did not lose to an in-state opponent all season and finished with 19 victories by 20 points or more — stepping on the gas with suffocating defense to open up a 39-21 lead heading into the locker room. Onyenwere had 21 points in the first half, shooting 8-for-8 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line.
“We knew defense would win us this game,” Onyenwere said. “Lakewood’s a great team with tall girls, and our defense led to a lot of the offense in the second half, which led to some big runs.”
Lakewood battled in the second half but could never get back within single digits as Grandview led from start to finish. Junior forward Camilla Emsbo paced the Tigers with 20 points to close a transcendental ride to the championship game for Lakewood.
In addition to losing star guard Mackenzie Forrest to a car crash after last season’s state tournament, assistant coach Joe Poisson passed away unexpectedly six weeks after Forrest. Yet from tragedy the Tigers grew stronger, with Camilla Emsbo, Kira Emsbo and Hannah Renstrom catalyzing Lakewood to its first-ever title appearance.
Meanwhile, despite the graduation of Onyenwere — who finishes as the fourth-leading career scorer in Colorado girls basketball history — Grandview will again be at the forefront of the title race next winter. The Wolves return a number of players who succeeded in the biggest moments Saturday, including junior forward Leilah Vigil, junior point guard Jaiden Galloway and sophomore center Alisha Davis.
“I’m just really proud of the way this group stayed focused all season long,” Grandview coach Josh Ulitizky said. “And it was much more than Michaela’s play that won us the title. It was a consistent team effort all year, because we’ve really taken a lot of pride in our depth.”
GIRLS CLASS 5A ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
MVP: Michaela Onyenwere, Sr., Grandview
Leilah Vigil, Jr., Grandview
Camilla Emsbo, Jr., Lakewood
Fran Belibi, So., Regis Jesuit
Sydney Mech, Jr., Cherry Creek
Lakewood: 9 12 9 2 — 32
Grandview: 18 21 9 13 — 61
Lakewood — C. Emsbo 8 2-2 20. Barron-Nicoletti 0 0-0 0. Woodhead 0 0-1 0. Renstrom 1 0-0 2. Woodhouse 0 0-0 0. Carbone 0 0-0 0. K. Emsbo 3 1-7 8. Heayden 1 0-0 2. Trevizo 0 0-0 0. Sabala 0 0-0 0. Coleman 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 3-10 32.
Grandview — Brown 1 0-0 2. Galloway 3 0-0 6. Davis 2 1-2 5. Smith 0 0-0 0. Onyenwere 9 7-7 25. Brown 0 0-2 0. La. Hudson 0 0-0 0. Marlett 1 2-2 5. Le. Hudson 4 0-0 10. Vigil 4 0-2 8. Serrano 0 0-0 0. Kelly 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 10-15 61.
3-pt. goals: C. Emsbo 2, K. Emsbo; Le. Hudson 2, Marlett.
