DENVER >> Much like Michigan State during March Madness, Holy Family girls basketball ascends to another level when the state tournament rolls around. ‘Tis the season.

But on Friday at the Denver Coliseum during the Class 4A semifinals, the fourth-seeded Tigers resembled that of the 2015 Spartans, and bowed out of the state tournament with a 53-45 loss to top-seeded University. That year, the Spartans clinched the Final Four as a 7 seed after their regular-season slate beat them up.

Ron Rossi, before his retirement last year, was the Tom Izzo of girls basketball in Colorado, and owned all seven of the program’s state crowns through his 21-year tenure. Mike Quintana hoped to add his name to the list in his first year at the helm of the program, but he’ll have to wait at least one more season.

“I’m super blessed to be getting the girls that are coming back next year. It’s a great group,” Quintana said. “I always say it always goes back to coach Rossi. He put a great tradition within our program, and all we’re trying to do is live up to that. When he passed that torch, we took that with great pride and responsibility and understand that the Coliseum is our home and this is the standard.”

The Tigers saw their biggest boost from junior Alexcia Oaxaca and senior Alyssa Quintana, who chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively, but the team excelled most through its 3-point shooting — sinking seven from deep — and its 16 steals. The Bulldogs drew many of Holy Family’s 21 fouls through their shooting motions, and tipped their cap with 12-of-18 shooting from the line.

“It was really difficult for us from day one, because we were a brand new team, only a few returning varsity players,” Oaxaca said. “Everybody else had come up, but we really pulled it together. But it’s just a different feeling. The crowd, the atmosphere, the student sections go crazy. It’s fun. It’s different.”

The Tigers came into the state tournament battle-tested, thanks to their primarily 6A and 5A Granite Peaks League. They had plenty of opportunities to heal from the scars that their 17-9 record left them with, and saw exponential growth after losing four of the top six shooters from last year’s state runner-up squad.

“I put the game in the girls’ hands a little bit more,” Quintana said. “We trusted them to just make the basketball decisions. Everything we did was just playing out of space and allowing them to just really react. We didn’t give them much as far as slowing it down. We struggled early with it, but I was super proud by the end of the season, what they were able to do with it and the speed in which they were able to do it with. We gave them a green light.”

They matched the Bulldogs’ effort through the first 16 minutes, seeing a 30-30 draw at the half, and maintained that high level of intensity heading into the fourth quarter. University distanced itself through three trips to the foul line while holding the Tigers to just one field goal through that eight-minute time frame.

Now, they’ll return to the drawing board with an entire offseason to prepare for their comeback next year. They’ll lose just three seniors — Quintana, Alicia Barajas and Annabelle Kenny — and bring back a squad that’s gotten comfortable at the Coliseum through three straight trips to the final four.

They won it all in 2023, then finished runner-up in 2024.

“I think more than just the competition and skill of the players you play against, the coaches in that (Granite Peaks) league are amazing as well, so we’re going against some really good coaches,” Quintana said. “But more so, I think it tested our mental (game) and it tested us to compete together as a group and to fight for one another. This is a great group of sisters that fight and argue, but at the end, they were fighting for each other. It was a great ride.”