Lady Dragons make history

Two years ago, the Lady Dragon basketball team had its sights set on a state championship but left the court empty handed thanks to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancellation of the state tournament after the first game.

Last year, Holyoke was upset in a shortened playoff bracket during a season challenged by pandemic restrictions. “It started to fuel the fire that made us want it even more,” said senior Lauren Herman.

This year, the Lady Dragons came home from the 2A state tournament with hardware in hand — the first state championship title in Holyoke High School girls basketball history.

“They didn’t give up,” said coach John Baumgartner. The team showed its gritty resiliency and its all-or-nothing attitude throughout the March 10-12 tournament at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland.

Seeded No. 2, Holyoke came from behind and narrowly defeated No. 7 Dayspring Christian Academy 33-30 in their first game Thursday.

The Lady Dragons came out on fire Friday, racking up a huge lead over No. 3 seed and defending state champ Limon in their 45-34 semifinal win.

Ironically, Holyoke faced No. 1 Sanford in the championship Saturday, the same team they were supposed to play in the 2020 semifinals that got canceled. Strong Dragon defense helped the team hold on to its first-half lead for a 39-34 victory at the final buzzer.

“What an effort!” said Baumgartner.

“Offense wins games. Defense wins championships,” he said, pointing out that keeping their opponents to 34 points or less speaks volumes to the defensive effort put forth by the team.

With only 10 players at the state tournament, Baumgartner gave credit to the quality leadership shown by the three seniors on the team: Herman, Kristin Vieselmeyer and Elyce Talavera. “They each stepped up differently in each game,” he said. “We’re going to lose those three, and we’re going to miss them.”

Baumgartner is also proud of the contributions of Elise Krogmeier, Audrey Talavera and Grace Roberts. “They did their roles and didn’t flinch,” he said.

Herman said, “We have to play smart” with such a small team, noting that it was important to remind all the players that they were an important part of the team.

Vieselmeyer echoed that thought, saying that circumstances brought the Lady Dragons a lot closer this year. Having been part of the state-qualifying team two years ago, the senior said that “COVID brought another level of determination to our team.”

The 2022 team really won this championship for the 2020 team too, said Baumgartner.

Holyoke has made an appearance at the state tournament 13 times since the mid-1990s, finishing with runner-up honors in 2006. The 2022 title is the first for the girls basketball program and is added to a 2000 state cheer championship as the only girls team sports to win state for the Dragons.

“We made history!” said Vieselmeyer.

“It’s crazy that we are the first ones to do that,” said Elyce Talavera. “Our crowd showed up, and it helped a lot.”

“We had pretty high expectations this year,” said Herman. “The support that we had the whole way through was crazy. They all believed in us even more than we believed in ourselves.”

Baumgartner said he is amazed by the support of the community. “I’ve been lucky and blessed to coach 22 years here,” he said, acknowledging his many assistant coaches, including current assistant coach Kyle Carper.

This is Baumgartner’s second state championship; he coached the Holyoke boys to the title in 2010. This season he marked his 500th game in Holyoke, and he’s surpassed 350 wins as a coach. After his six years with the girls, they’ve recorded more than 100 wins.

This year’s seniors are celebrating a 78-12 record for their high school career, including a 25-1 record in 2021-22.

“They were a fun group to coach,” said Baumgartner. “Wins are great, but you teach them life lessons.”

“He’s helped us through a lot more than just basketball,” said Vieselmeyer.

Holyoke claims hard-fought victory on first day

Nothing seemed to go right for the Lady Dragons as they kicked off their state tournament experience midday Thursday in Loveland.

Facing No. 7 Dayspring Christian Academy, who they beat early in the season, Holyoke struggled to make its shots, falling behind 12-2 at the end of the first quarter.

Baumgartner gave Dayspring a lot of credit for their game plan. “But we gotta keep shooting it,” he said.

The Lady Dragons outscored Dayspring 8-4 in the second but still trailed 16-10 at halftime.

In the second half, Holyoke found a way to get some inside points from Vieselmeyer and Krogmeier, as well as a pair of treys from Herman and Elyce Talavera.

A huge 15-point third quarter brought the Lady Dragons within three points of Dayspring. Holyoke put up eight in the final period while the defense held Dayspring to only two free throw points.

“We did what we had to do to finish it off,” said Baumgartner. Holyoke defeated Dayspring 33-30 to advance to the semifinals Friday.

Vieselmeyer was the lead Dragon scorer with 17 points from five 2-pointers and seven for eight from the line.

Herman led rebounds with 10, and she and Krogmeier each blocked a shot. Krogmeier topped steals with five, and Audrey Talavera and Herman had the most assists with four apiece.

Holyoke 33, Dayspring Christian 30

Statistics    2    3    FT    F    TP

A. Talavera    0    0    0-0    2    0

E. Talavera    0    1    0-1    2    3

Herman    2    1    0-0    2    7

Vieselmeyer    5    0    7-8    4    17

Krogmeier    3    0    0-0    2    6

TEAM    10    2    7-9    12    33

Dayspring Christian

TEAM    10    1    7-12    13    30

Scoring By Quarters

Holyoke    2    8    15    8    —    33

Dayspring    12    4    12    2    —    30

Lady Dragons defeat defending state champs

“I loved the way we responded Friday,” said Baumgartner after a not-so-pretty win Thursday.

Holyoke came out swinging against northeast Colorado rival Limon, who was looking for a repeat state championship. The Lady Dragons led 18-4 at the end of the first quarter and 31-12 at halftime.

Limon came out of the locker room with determination and outscored Holyoke 13-10 in the third and 9-4 in the fourth, but the Lady Dragons held on to their considerable lead and claimed the 45-34 semifinal victory.

The girls played “unbelievable defensively,” said Baumgartner. To hold a team like Limon to single digits in three out of the four quarters is something to be proud of, not to mention that Limon’s top player only scored two points from a pair of free throws.

He said that the Lady Dragons handled Limon’s press well, and they were hot behind the arc, with three treys from Audrey Talavera, two from Elyce Talavera and one from Herman.

It was a balanced scoring effort from the Lady Dragons. Vieselmeyer scored 12 points, Audrey Talavera 11 and Elyce Talavera 10.

Herman led rebounds with eight, and she and Vieselmeyer blocked one shot apiece. The Talavera sisters grabbed four steals apiece, and Herman topped assists with four.

Holyoke 45, Limon 34

Statistics    2    3    FT    F    TP

A. Talavera    0    3    2-2    2    11

E. Talavera    2    2    0-0    2    10

Herman    1    1    3-6    2    8

Vieselmeyer    5    0    2-3    2    12

Krogmeier    1    0    2-2    1    4

TEAM    9    6    9-13    9    45

Limon

TEAM    9    4    4-5    14    34

Scoring By Quarters

Holyoke    18    13    10    4    —    45

Limon    4    8    13    9    —    34

Girls hold off Sanford for championship title

Vieselmeyer said the anticipation leading up to the state championship game Saturday was incredible. “This is it. This is time for everyone to play their role on the team,” she thought before the game. “When the buzzer started, we just let loose.”

The Budweiser Events Center stands were filled with green — for both Holyoke and Sanford — as family, friends, students and alumni gathered in Loveland for the historic game. “You just knew our kids were ready for this moment,” said Baumgartner.

Thanks to two 3-pointers by Elyce Talavera and some inside shots from Vieselmeyer, Herman and Krogmeier, the Lady Dragons led 13-5 at the end of the first quarter.

All of Holyoke’s 10 points in the second quarter were scored by Herman, who sunk three 3s to give Holyoke a 23-8 advantage after the first half.

“They came at us hard in the third,” said Baumgartner. Sanford outscored the Lady Dragons 15-7 to lessen Holyoke’s lead to seven points. “There was no panicked look in their faces,” said the coach, commending the girls for their composure throughout the game.

Not willing to concede just yet, Sanford came within three points of Holyoke a couple of times at the end of the game. The Lady Dragons handled the free throw pressure well and scored seven crucial points from the line in the fourth quarter.

The Holyoke girls claimed their first state championship with a 39-34 win over Sanford.

“Those kids made play after play — big plays,” said Baumgartner. “Couldn’t dream it up any better.”

Herman led the team with 14 points, including one 2-pointer, three treys and three free throws. She also topped rebounding stats with 10 and steals with five.

Elyce Talavera blocked two shots, and Vieselmeyer led assists with four.

Holyoke 39, Sanford 34

Statistics    2    3    FT    F    TP

A. Talavera    0    0    0-0    1    0

E. Talavera    0    3    0-0    2    9

Roberts    0    0    0-0    2    0

Herman    1    3    3-5    1    14

Vieselmeyer    3    0    3-4    3    9

Krogmeier    2    0    3-4    2    7

TEAM    6    6    9-13    11    39

Sanford

TEAM    4    6    8-12    13    34

Scoring By Quarters

Holyoke    13    10    7    9    —    39

Sanford    5    3    15    11    —    34

Vieselmeyer records one of highest Lady Dragon point totals

The two seniors who played for the Lady Dragons all four years of high school have left quite a legacy.

Vieselmeyer capped her high school basketball career with a total of 1,340 points, 833 rebounds, 137 assists, 149 steals and 70 blocks.

Herman accumulated 843 points, 702 rebounds, 262 assists, 178 steals and 63 blocks.

Stat leaders for the 2021-22 season were Vieselmeyer with an average of 18.4 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. Elyce Talavera averaged 4.2 assists and four steals per game. Herman led blocks with 1.2 per game.