BOULDER — This town finally made Regis coach Carl Mattei cry for a good reason.
Playing in their fifth consecutive final four and third overall state final, the Raiders finally broke through Friday night at the Coors Events Center by outlasting Monarch 44-37 to win their first Class 5A state title.
Blessed annually with some of the best talent in the state, the Raiders found the golden ball to be a grail of nearly mythological proportions.
And that’s why Mattei — always the gentleman and competitor — had to wipe away his gratitude as his bench emptied on the court in raptures.
“It’s because I’ve come so many times and I’ve come so close. You sit there and you go, ‘Maybe it’s the place. Maybe it’s a curse,’ ” Mattei said. “This court has haunted us. But to see the seniors come together — they’ve stuck with it, they’ve stuck with me —and actually say we’re state champs . . . it’s an amazing feeling.”
Behind 18 points from senior Mary Boken- kamp and nine points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots from Diana Rolniak, the Raiders (24-4) largely controlled the game and fended off a furious rally by the surprising Coyotes (21-7), who had knocked off three-time defending champion and historic Regis-killer Highlands Ranch.
Bokenkamp scored 12 of Regis’ 15 points in the third quarter, including the Raiders’ first seven. She drilled four 3-pointers and converted some key layups as the Raiders stretched their lead to 34-24.
“I was just starting to get fed up with it,” Bokenkamp said. “We were up by five and I was like, ‘We got to blow this open, get a lead and maybe get their spirits down a little bit.’ That’s what we did, but they gave us a little scare at the end.”
Before a crowd of 8,688 — a record for a girls big-school state final — the Raiders never suffered the kind of offensive slumps that led to their previous dismissals from the final four. The Raiders did, however, have to protect a lead that was chopped down to 37-35 with 2:45 remaining on a putback by freshman Rebecca Richmond.
The Raiders answered defensively with Rolniak and were steady in the backcourt with senior guard Mariah Williams (seven points). Boken- kamp put the fork in it, drilling a 3-pointer from the left baseline to put the Raiders up 44-35 with 49 seconds remaining.
“Hey, I think we’re a Cinderella story after all the adversity we’ve had and getting so close so many times,” Rolniak said. “The clock struck midnight on us three times, and we finally got the slipper.”
The Coyotes never had the time or space to get into a rhythm from the perimeter. Standout Emily Wood was held to just three points on 1-of-11 shooting, but Alex Evans had 13 points and freshman forward Alexus Johnson had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
“We were right there,” Monarch coach Gail Hook said of her team that began the season 2-2 and lost to Regis 83-51 during the season. “They did everything I asked. We’re really excited about what lies ahead for us.”
Monarch 5 9 12 11 — 37
Regis 9 10 15 10 — 44
Monarch – Cowley 1 0-0 2, Wood 1 0-0 3, Evans 4 4-4 13, Norman 2 0-0 5, Harder 0 0-0 0, Johnson 4 3-5 11, Richmond 1 1-3 3, O’Brien 0 0-0 0, Bolyard 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 8-12 37.
Regis – Williams 3 1-2 7, Rolniak 4 1-1 9, Bokenkamp 6 2-2 18, Shealy 1 2-2 4, Winters 1 3-9 5, Rooney 0 0-0 0, Zaraskyte 0 1-2 1, O’Neill 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 10-18 44.
3-point goals — Evans, Norman, Wood; Bokenkamp 4. Total fouls — Monarch 16, Regis 15. Fouled out — None. Technicals — None.
