Breezy Huff’s career game propels Delta girls basketball into first title game appearance

Breezy made Delta history look easy on Friday at Denver Coliseum.

Senior point guard Breezy Huff poured in a career-high 27 points to lead the Delta girls basketball program to its first state championship appearance, as the Panthers beat Timnath 56-46 in the Class 4A Final Four.

Huff — who also had nine rebounds, three steals and an assist — was an unstoppable force at point guard, while fellow senior Taylor Somers chipped in 15 points as the Panthers erased a six-point halftime deficit.

“To see (Huff) take it on her shoulders and carry us today, that was a pretty special moment,” ninth-year Delta head coach Kyle Crowder said. “A lot of kids dream of being in this position, and I think she’s probably dreamed about it so many times that today, she knew she had to do something about it. It’s going to be hard to think about anything else we did besides her just carrying everything.”

Huff, who experienced the anguish of losing in the Great 8 in her sophomore and junior seasons, was determined to push the Panthers into the championship. The Boettcher Scholarship finalist, who is likely headed to Fort Lewis to study engineering, was 3 of 4 from distance and 10 of 11 at the free-throw line.

She was averaging 9.3 points per game coming into Friday, but surpassed that total by halftime.

“I’ve watched so many Delta teams come here and not make it to the title, and I just wasn’t about that,” Huff said. “I wasn’t going to let that happen. I really wanted it, and (those Great 8 losses) were motivation.

“… I was feeling it.”

The opening quarter was back-and-forth, with each team matching the other’s run. And after Timnath took command in the second quarter, Delta retaliated in the third with a swell of its own for a 37-36 lead into the fourth.

“We knew we had to get out on the 3s, and take some (of those looks) away,” Somers said. “We had to guard out there, and make sure to box out better so they couldn’t get those second-chance opportunities.”

In crunch time, the Panthers continued to buckle down.

While Huff continued steering Delta toward the championship, the Panthers got important contributions elsewhere. Somers had several clutch buckets, while junior post Ava Martinez played big inside with a couple critical rebounds and a put-back on an airball that extended the lead to 10 with 2:09 left.

By the time Somers made a pair of free throws with 58 seconds left, it was over.

It marks Delta’s first hoops title game appearance for the boys or girls since the boys lost the 1961 2A title. And with the win, the Panthers’ win streak stretches to 16 after they opened the season 5-6, including four straight tournament losses to higher-classification teams in Fossil Ridge, Fruita Monument, Air Academy and Palmer Ridge.

“Our first couple tournaments had a big impact, especially playing those bigger schools,” Somers said. “Our league doesn’t have that great of competition, so it was important to face those teams early to know what we were getting into here (at Denver Coliseum).”

For a team with zero club basketball players and a roster full of players who have grown up together, Crowder says the payoff of making the title game is even sweeter.

“We have no move-ins, no kids who have ever just showed up in our program (as a transfer),” Crowder said. “These are all homegrown kids. And coaching country kids like this is incredible, because they just do everything you ask them to and more.”

Western Slope League champion Delta, which improved to 19-6, faces the winner of No. 1 University/No. 4 Holy Family in Saturday’s championship. Timnath, which made its first Final Four appearance, finished 23-4 and was led by junior Gretchen Deines’ 17 points.