DENVER — For the first time in school history, both the Northfield Nighthawks boys and girls basketball teams have clinched their first berths to the Final Four.
"That's something that I don't even have words for it," girls basketball head coach Sydney Price said. "The ability to have a legacy in Denver Public Schools is huge.”
Northfield is the only DPS school left in the 5A state semifinals, in both the girls and boys brackets.
"We put it on for the 303, you know," senior guard Justus Michaels said. "A lot of people downplay us thinking that we come from the northeast side.”
The boys hold the number one overall seed, but it was put in jeopardy in the Great 8 as the Mead Mavericks held a nine-point lead in the fourth. The Nighthawks would fight back to escape the quarterfinals.
“We just come with that mindset that we're number one but they still underrate us all the time," Michaels said.
The girls are even more impressive, led by two freshmen, Madison Bethel and forward LaPorsha Allen. They are also under the leadership of first-year head coach and DPS graduate from Manual High School, Sydney Price.
“We have a very young team that is confident and they want it," Price said. "They told me that from the beginning and so it's just, it's overwhelming with joy right now.”
Allen had a career-high 22 points in the quarterfinals, so it's safe to say she is peaking at the right time.
“Making history now as a freshman is just amazing,” Allen expressed.
The Northfield girls take on No. 1 Air Academy in the Final Four, on Thursday at 11 a.m., while the boys take on Mesa Ridge Thursday at 4 p.m. Both games will be played at the Denver Coliseum.
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