Simply put: Regis’ girls basketball team is a buzzsaw.
The Raiders ran over and through Rocky Mountain 82-47 on Friday at the Denver Coliseum and advanced to the Class 5A Final Four in their first season with the big schools and their third overall since opening their doors in 2003.
“We had the first quarter jitters a little bit, playing in the big arena,” Regis coach Carl Mattei said. “Rocky Mountain played us so tough the first time around, and they are just so well-coached.”
Once Regis (25-1) got acclimated to its new surroundings, just over halfway through the first quarter, the Raiders stepped up their game and never looked back. An offensive onslaught that featured reserve Megan O’Dorisio from the outside and the penetration of guard Mariah Williams.
Rocky Mountain (16-10), a 74-59 loser to the Raiders during the regular season, led early on 7-4 but then saw Regis go on a 35-13 run to end the half.
“We just played the wrong team on the wrong night,” Rocky Mountain coach Barry Bessert said. “They shot the ball well, and we thought we had some good defensive schemes set up for them, they just nailed everything.”
Rocky Mountain 9 11 9 18 – 47
Regis 20 19 20 23 – 82
Rocky Mountain – Zarling 1 0-2 3, Al. Curtis 4 0-0 10, Ar. Curtis 4 5-7 13, Connolly 3 2-2 9, Johnson 0 3-6 3, Knoll 0 0-0 0, Gleiforst 3 0-0 6, Raasch 1 0-0 3, Schmitz 0 0-0 0, Hunter 0 0-0 0, Gertz 0 0-2 0, Hartman 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 10-19 47.
Regis – Williams 6 2-4 15, Rolniak 2 2-2 6, Shealy 2 4-4 8, Winters 5 1-1 13, Nielson 4 2-2 10, Weimar 0 0-0 0, O’Dorisio 3 0-0 9, Roben 2 0-0 5, Bokenkamp 5 0-0 12, Case 1 1-2 3, Lehan 0 1-2 1. Totals 30 13-17 82.
3-point goals – Al. Curtis 2, Zarling, Connolly, Raasch; O’Dorisio 3, Winters 2, Bokenkamp 2, Williams, Roben. Total fouls – Rocky Mountain 19; Regis 17. Fouled out – Al. Curtis. Technicals – None.
HORIZON 57, THUNDERRIDGE 52 (OT): The annual bridesmaids from Horizon are still holding out hope to be the center of attention.
The Hawks (22-4), runners-up the past two seasons, will return to the Coors Events Center in Boulder after posting a come-from-behind overtime victory against ThunderRidge.
“I knew we were going to win this game,” Horizon junior guard Nikki Trujillo said. “I just kept saying, heart is going to win this game.”
Heart, some luck and some clutch shooting in overtime. Trujillo and reigning Colorado Ms. Basketball Hannah Tuomi single-handedly got the Hawks back in the game, scoring all of Horizon’s 11 third-quarter points. Horizon didn’t cut into the Grizzlies’ halftime lead, but with the shots starting to fall, the Hawks established momentum.
ThunderRidge (18-8) finally gave up its lead with 41 seconds remaining in regulation. The lead grew to 47-44 when Cherae Medina hit two free throws with 21 second left.
ThunderRidge 11 20 9 7 5 – 52
Horizon 13 12 11 11 10 – 57
ThunderRidge – Messer 1 0-0 3, M. Malcolm-Peck 9 0-0 21, Evans 4 0-0 8, Luedtke 2 1-2 6, Dederick 3 2-5 8, Jelniker 0 0-0 0, B. Malcolm-Peck 2 1-2 6, Potthoff 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 4-9 52.
Horizon – Medina 1 7-10 10, Trujillo 7 2-2 21, Tuomi 6 2-4 14, Lambert 2 0-0 5, Herz 1 3-6 5, Clements 1 0-0 2, Barringer 0 0-0 0, Dillon 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 14-22 57.
3-point goals – M. Malcolm-Peck 3, Messer, Luedtke, B. Malcolm-Peck; Trujillo 5, Medina, Lambert. Total fouls – ThunderRidge 19, Horizon 12. Fouled out – Evans. Technical – None.
LEGACY 64, AIR ACADEMY 55: The Legacy celebration was one you might see after a December home win against a unwilling opponent.
The Lightning, making its first Final Four appearance, have loftier goals. The 6-year- old Louisville-based school will make its first trip to the state semifinals after a tough victory over Colorado Springs Metro League champion Air Academy.
“Like coach (Jody Welch) said, we’re proud of what we accomplished, but we’re not satisfied,” Legacy senior Melissa Jones said.
Legacy (23-3), winners of the Alice Barron Region, will play Kaye Garms Region champion Regis at 2:30 on Wednesday at the Coors Events Center.
Jones was impressive with her tournament-high 37 points and eight rebounds, but it was everything she could do to keep the pesky Kadets at bay.
The Kadets chipped away at what grew to a Lightning 13-point lead in the second half. Hayley Hollenga led the charge with nine of her team-high 15 points in the third quarter. Air Academy (24-2) got as close as 47-43 early in the fourth, but never got the critical stop when they needed it.
Freshman Quincey Noonan added 11 points for Legacy.
Air Academy got 10 each from starters Wendy Sherman and Kaeleigh Helsham and 11 from reserve Krista Cona.
Air Academy 10 9 20 16 – 55
Legacy 17 11 19 17 – 64
Air Academy – Sherman 4 2-2 10, H. Hollenga 7 0-1 15, Drescher 3 2-3 8, Stanley 0 1-2 1, Helsham 3 4-5 10, Beal 0 0-0 0, Cona 3 4-8 11, M. Hollenga 0 0-0 0, Arney 0 0-0 0, Tannehill 0 0-0 0, Rolfs 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 13-21 55.
Legacy – Matthews 0 3-4 3, Cosgrove 3 1-1 8, Long 1 0-0 3, Jones 12 11-14 37, Noonan 4 3-6 11, Babcock 0 0-0 0, K. Morton 0 2-2 2, Wittkop 0 0-3 0. Totals 20 20-30 64.
3-point goals – H. Hollenga, Cona; Jones 2, Cosgrove, Long. Total fouls – Air Academy 24; Legacy 17. Fouled out – Cona, M. Hollenga, Stanley. Technicals – None.
HIGHLANDS RANCH 74, ARAPAHOE 55: The defending champions return to the Final Four, winning the nightcap over Continental League rival Arapahoe.
The Falcons (23-3) will play Horizon at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
“We knew we wanted to set the tempo for the game in the early going,” Highlands Ranch junior forward Alyssa Fressle said. “We let up in the second half, the first time around against these guys (a 70-62 Falcons win), and we weren’t going to let that happen tonight.”
Highlands Ranch used a second-quarter run of 12-2 and a third quarter 21-3 spurt to distance themselves from the upstart Warriors (19-7).
The combination of Fressle and Boston College-bound senior Jaclyn Thoman kept up a fast pace, that the Warriors were simply unable to match.
Arapahoe 10 12 13 20 – 55
Highlands Ranch 13 17 23 21 – 74
Arapahoe – Hancock 0 0-0 0, S. Barczuk 2 0-0 5, A. Barczuk 7 11-14 25, Hentschel 3 1-2 9, Thorderson 4 2-2 11, Dershem 0 0-0 0, Durkin 2 0-0 5, Kenna 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 14-18 55.
Highlands Ranch – Fressle 6 6-8 18, Tsukamaki 1 0-0 2, Thoman 8 3-4 20, Ryba 5 1-2 11, Davis 2 2-2 6, Fulps 2 6-8 12, Burke 2 1-1 5. Totals 26 19-25 74.
3-point goals – Hentschel 2, S. Barczuk, Thorderson, Durkin; Fulps 2, Thoman. Total fouls – Highlands Ranch 21; Arapahoe 18. Fouled out – S. Barczuk, A. Barczuk. Technical – Davis.
