DENVER, COLO – As the 2026 CHSAA girls basketball Final 4 got underway at Denver Coliseum on Friday, Timnath battled closely with Kent Denver before ultimately falling 53–46, sending Kent Denver to the state championship.
Though marking the program’s first appearance in a championship game, Kent Denver saw heavy contributions across the roster, led by Austin Dunkin, who led the game with 15 points. Teammate Elise Drogin‑Tundermann followed closely behind with 14 points.
“Our energy was so good,” Drogin‑Tundermann said. “Our bench brought so much and so did our student section. We wanted this for our senior, Austin, who is going to Washburn.”
Scores remained tight throughout the first half as both teams traded numerous fouls and free throw attempts. However, things shifted later in the third quarter as Kent Denver began to further expand its lead, ending the period 37–31.
Timnath senior Tiana Guzman kept the scores close, scoring numerous three pointers and free throw shots before ultimately finishing with 13 points.
Kent Denver defended their lead throughout the final quarter, defending numerous scoring attempts from the Cubs and ultimately leading the matchup in both rebounds and steals.
“This is a feisty group that’s not going to go away,” said Kent Denver coach Ann Abromaitis. “They put in effort before the season started, all season long. We never let up and I am just so proud of all of them.”
Kent Denver will play for the Class 4A state championship at 10 a.m. March 14, and face off against the winner of the Holy Family and University matchup later this afternoon.
“Super excited for this opportunity,” Abromaitis said. “I said this from day one, it doesn’t really matter how many games we win or lose. It’s how we play and how we take care of each other and they’re doing that awesome.”
Holy Family 48, University 40
While it wasn’t the high-scoring, triple-overtime affair from a few weeks ago, Holy Family and University had a heck of a battle in the final girls 4A semifinal of the day.
In order for the Tigers to win their first state title since 2023, the path was always going to go through the defending 4A champion. Gracie Ward had 11 points and Priya Lucas had a 10-point, 16-rebound double-double to keep Holy Family’s season alive for one more day.
“We know we have to do it for each other,” Lucas said. “We have to make that one more pass, play for each other. We have people out with injury. We’ve played down one [teammate] and we all know what it takes to win and we just have to get it done for each other.”
The Tigers will face Kent Denver, who advanced to its first title game in program history earlier in the day at Denver Coliseum.
The two teams met back on Dec. 9 with Holy Family winning the game 67-52. Since 2007, Kent and Holy Family have played 13 times with Holy Family winning 12 of those matchups.
