DENVER – History makers.
That’s what the 2024-25 Resurrection Christian girls basketball team will always be known as.
The Cougars made sure of that by capturing the school’s inaugural girls hoops state crown Saturday.
Resurrection Christian sped past Denver Christian 54-32 to claim the Class 3A girls state championship at Denver University’s Hamilton Gymnasium.
“This is amazing,” said senior Olivia Klein, who had a game-high 19 points. “We put the goal out there at the beginning of the season and hoped and prayed we would be here and just to be here (winning state) is just the most incredible feeling ever.”
Resurrection Christian capped its memorable season with a 26-2 record, and it included wins over Strasburg (54-28), Colorado Springs Christian (39-31) and then Denver Christian in the Great 8. Denver Christian, which also was trying to capture their inaugural girls hoops state title, ended the season with a 26-2 record.
“Any words I give you will not sum up the feeling we have right now,” Resurrection Christian coach Jason Conrad said. “To make school history with these five seniors and the things they have gone through and to do it with them, there has never been a more deserving group of five seniors, ever. And for them to accomplish what their goal was since freshman year and even before that and be part of this journey as a coach is a dream come true.”
The five seniors for the Cougars are Klein, Caz McGraw, Milana Rowe, Lysette Battz and Callie Gillespie.
Resurrection Christion wasted no time in setting the tone for the game – starting out the first quarter on a 17-2 run, following Klein’s 3-pointer from the right of the top of the key at the 2:20 mark of the first quarter.
By quarter’s end the Cougars were up 19-6.
“The gameplan was to start fast,” Klein said. “Both of us were playing for the third day in a row and we knew we had to start fast and just keep up that energy and that’s what we did.”
Following two free throws by Lysette Battz at 5:47 of the second quarter the Cougars were up 23-8.
Denver Christian kept clawing its way back in the game and cut the deficit to 23-13 with 2:34 left in the second quarter when Teagan Fuller drained a 3-pointer from the left corner.
Klein gave the Cougars some more breathing room when she sank two of three free throws at the 1:20 of the second putting the Cougars up 25-13. DC’s Fuller answered with two tosses from the charity stripe – her fourth and fifth points – right before half to get the Thunder within 25-15.
Klein made a trio of 3-pointers while scoring a game-best 11 first-half points.
Just like the first half. Resurrection Christian stepped on the gas in the third quarter and when Klein sank two free throws at the 4:32 mark of the third the Cougars were up 31-18. A Battz layup increased the lead to 33-18 less than a minute later.
“I think our key was defense and we just had to keep playing our game no matter what they did, and I’m so glad we did,” Klein said.
Klein cashed two more free throws at 2:43 of the third, pushing DC up 37-19. Rowe’s free throw with 15 seconds left in the quarter gave the Cougars their largest lead of the game at 41-21.
Battz’s traditional three-point play gave the Cougars a commanding 50-27 edge with 5:05 to play.
Battz (13) and Gillespie (12) also scored in double-figures for the victorious Cougars. Anna Everett had 10 points in the Denver Christian loss.
