DENVER — One-and-done basketball tournaments rarely go as smoothly as they have for Holy Family’s Gracie Ward during her high school career.
March Madness — it’s been more like Springtime Sanity for the Tigers senior.
On Friday, Holy Family’s leading scorer this winter will make her fourth appearance in the Class 4A Final Four at the Denver Coliseum. She’s confident — her shot says as much — that her team can get back to the title game and win its first state title since her freshman year.
“It’s definitely a comfort place now,” Ward said, looking around at the longtime home of Colorado’s basketball championships. “But at the end of the day, the hoop is still 10 feet. It’s just a court.”
On Wednesday, Ward looked comfortable readapting to the polarizing confines of the 4A Great 8 as she scored 18 points in No. 4 Holy Family’s 42-32 win over No. 5 Sterling.
Those endless backdrops that are known to give fits to even the best high school shooters — well, they didn’t affect Ward much. She hit 3 of her 7 3-point attempts and shot 54% from the field in the win.
Holy Family, meanwhile, put the clamps on Sterling — holding it well below its average of 48 points per game. While those Tigers went just 3 of 14 from deep and shot 32% from the field, Holy Family finished 7 of 24 from 3 and 40% from the field.
Next, the Tigers will face the winner of No. 1 University and No. 8 Alamosa on Friday back at the Coliseum. The Bulldogs beat the Tigers in last year’s Final Four on their way to the 4A title.
Last month, however, the two teams played three overtimes in a game Holy Family won 90-83.
“We wanted this rematch in the playoffs,” said junior Priya Lucas, who had five points and seven rebounds in Wednesday’s win. “We believe this time is going to be different because we’re just playing more for each other. We are making the extra pass and leaving it all out there.”
Playing for each other has been easier than playing together for the Tigers this season.
Coach Mike Quintana can’t name a player who hasn’t been injured at some point this season. The Tigers missed Ward for a stretch of games in January. They didn’t expect to get Alexcia Oaxaca back this season, but she returned from a knee injury after missing nearly two months.
And in the playoffs, they’ve been without seasoned veteran Enyiah Contreraz after she suffered a season-ending injury late last month. Contreraz was the other standout freshman on the Tigers’ last championship team in 2023. That year, she hit three 3-pointers in the finals to help lift Holy Family to its seventh state title in program history.
“On the court you can see it’s bigger than just us,” Ward said. “It’s bigger than ourselves. It’s about being there for each other and playing for one another. Every second out there we’re playing for Enyiah.”
