BOULDER | Grandview girls basketball coach Josh Ultizky expects to lose a lot of sleep in the coming months over two points.
Two measly points is all that stood between his Wolves and a possible chance to win its first Class 5A state championship.
In an outstanding 2015-16 season in which Grandview went undefeated going into the semifinals and appeared to have fully joined the ranks of Colorado’s elite big-school girls programs, the Wolves ended up on the short end of a 69-67 decision against ThunderRidge March 10 in a 5A semifinal at the Coors Events Center in Boulder.
“That’s what will keep me up tonight and this summer, what could I have done differently and how could I have put the kids in a position do better than we did?” Ulitzky said in the back hallway of the Coors Events Center, minutes after his team came up a step short of making the state championship game for the third time in four years.
“At some point I’ll be able to look back on what we did this season,” he added. “We had a great group of girls and I’m just a little frustrated with myself on what I didn’t do to get us to the next step.”
Experience may have made the ultimate difference in a game that saw ThunderRidge open up a double-digit lead in the second quarter, only to see Grandview get the game to within two points twice in the last minute and a half and actually force a loose ball it couldn’t quite recover with a chance to tie.
Ulitzky was particularly frustrated with himself for not communicating the urgency of fouling to his players, who let several precious seconds get off the clock in the final minute.
The Grizzlies featured many seniors who had been on the same floor the previous year and lost to Broomfield in the state championship game, while Grandview had only two seniors on the floor — Alexus Gash and Kayla Vallin — and neither had played in the program’s last trip to the 5A semifinals.
Only junior star Michaela Onyenwere — who finished with a game-high 26 points — and junior Kennede Brown had played in Boulder before for Grandview.
The Grizzlies hit just too many 3-pointers, broke the Wolves’ press too many times, hit too many clutch free throws (16-of-20 from the line to Grandview’s 20-of-32) and got too many loose balls for Ulitzky’s team to overcome.
“They wanted it more I think,” said Brown, who scored 11 points. “We’ll be hungry next year and we don’t want to feel this way again.”
The Wolves posted a 59-51 victory over the Grizzlies when the teams met during the regular season, but the game played out in an entirely different fashion.
ThunderRidge made just two 3-pointers in the first meeting, but made two in the opening quarter of the semifinal alone. The Grizzlies also drew two offensive fouls in the early going.
“I think their offense was better and our defense wasn’t quite as good this time,” Brown said. “We were out of rotation in the beginning on defense and I think it messed with the offense as well.”
ThunderRidge senior Alyssia Martinez scored just three points in the first meeting, yet she racked up a team-high 21 in this meeting and proved to be a difference maker for the Grizzlies, who went on shock the state by defeating consensus favorite Highlands Ranch in the state championship game.
Grandview’s title hopes will have to wait until next season, where it hopes to finish.
“I hope this will drive us in every practice and every workout from the next time we step into the gym,” Ulitzky said. “If I know my kids, it will.”
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
(2) THUNDERRIDGE 69, (1) GRANDVIEW 67
Score by quarters:
ThunderRidge 22 18 13 16 — 69
Grandview 15 15 15 22 — 67
THUNDERRIDGE (69)
Madison Ward 0 2-2 2, Taylor Rusk 3 3-4 11, Jaz’myne Snipes 8 1-3 18, Alyssia Martinez 8 4-4 21, Mallory Elson 0 2-3 2, Dallas Petties 4 4-4 12, Alexa Wiens 1 0-0 3. Totals 24 16-20 69.
GRANDVIEW (67)
Alexus Gash 1 0-0 2, Alisha Davis 2 1-3 5, Michaela Onyenwere 9 5-12 26, Kennede Brown 2 6-9 11, Jaiden Galloway 1 2-2 4, Kayla Vallin 2 2-2 7, Allyah Marlett 3 2-2 10, Lenzi Hudson 0 2-2 2. Totals 20 20-32 67.
3-point field goals — ThunderRidge (5): Taylor Rusk 2, Alyssia Martinez, Jaz’myne Snipes, Alexa Weins. Total fouls — ThunderRidge 23, Grandview 22. Fouled out — ThunderRidge: Snipes, Madison Ward. Technical fouls — None.
