BOULDER — Highlands Ranch fans can be excused for thinking their savior fouled out with one minute to go in Friday’s Class 5A state championship.
But as standout Allysa Fressle trudged to the bench, the Falcons’ savior was only coming in.
Junior forward Jenessa Burke took her cue with a key rebound and then drilled a step-back 3-pointer with 48 seconds remaining to give Highlands Ranch the lead for good in a wild 59-54 victory over Regis at the Coors Events Center.
“I felt it after that,” Burke said of her rebound of Diana Rolniak’s errant free throw. “I just knew I had it and I was going to do what I needed to do. My opportunity appeared and I told myself before the game I was going to shoot a 3 and I took it.”
Burke, who finished with eight points and five rebounds, played her role of sixth man to perfection as the Falcons survived six lead changes in the fourth quarter to clinch their third straight state title and sixth since 2000. The Falcons finished 25-3 for the second straight season and needed two fewer seasons to match Boulder’s big-school title haul.
Fressle, who will play here next season for Colorado, had 10 points at halftime but was 0-for-5 in the second half and finished with 13 points.
“When I was coming out I got so down, but you can’t do that,” Fressle said. “We just got to keep believing, and we did.”
Junior guard Megan Fulps led the Falcons with 14 points and senior Taylor Johnson had 10 points as the Falcons stayed unbeaten this season against in-state opponents and finished on an 18-game winning streak.
“I don’t want to leave,” Fressle said of Sox Walseth Court.
Regis can’t wait to go somewhere else. The Raiders (25-3) lost to their Continental League rivals for the second time this season while losing in a second final in their four varsity seasons.
“I don’t like Boulder,” Raiders coach Carl Mattei said. “Move it to Pepsi Center or DU. It just doesn’t treat us well up here.”
The Raiders played their best game in four trips to the Final Four, overcoming a second-quarter knee injury to glue-player Meghan Winters and battling back from a 10-point deficit in the third quarter.
The Raiders took their first lead on Kamile Nacickaite’s jumper with 5:19 left in the fourth quarter, part of a dazzling finish for the future Drexel Dragon. The Raiders went up 52-50 on Kelsey Roben’s baseline jumper with 2:43 left but couldn’t extend the advantage because of 2-for-7 free-throw shooting.
Nanickaite had 20 points, Roben scored 10 and Rolniak had 13 rebounds, blocked three shots and scored six points.
“It just worked out perfectly,” Falcons senior Jade Davis said. “We came and we got a game.”
Regis 7 13 16 18 — 54
Highlands Ranch 16 14 9 20 — 59
Regis — Williams 3 0-0 7, Rolniak 2 2-6 6, Shealy 2 1-4 5, Winters 2 0-0 4, Nacickaite 8 3-4 20, Bokenkamp 0 2-2 2, O’Dorisio 0 0-0 0, Roben 4 0-2 10, O’Neil 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 8-18 54.
Highlands Ranch — Fressle 5 3-4 13, Fulps 4 4-4 14, Johnson 3 3-4 10, Ryba 3 0-0 6, Davis 2 4-6 8, Burke 3 1-3 8. Totals 20 15-21 59.
3-point goals — Roben 2, Nacickaite, Williams; Fulps 2, Johnson, Burke.
Total fouls — Regis 19, Highlands Ranch 15. Fouled out — Fressle. Technicals — None.
All-tournament team
Jenessa Burke, Jr., Highlands Ranch
Allysa Fressle, Sr., Highlands Ranch
Meagan Fulps, Jr., Highlands Ranch
Kamile Nacickaite, Sr., Regis
Diana Rolniak, Jr., Regis
MVP: Jenessa Burke
