AURORA — Don’t count out the defending Class 5A champions just yet.
The Regis Jesuit girls basketball team, thought to be undergoing a remodel this season after losing seven Division I-bound seniors, all of a sudden appears as good a bet as any to play in another state championship game.
The No. 6-ranked Raiders defeated No. 2 ThunderRidge 58-46 on Tuesday night in a big Continental League game.
“We’re young, but we’re pretty good when we put it together,” Regis Jesuit coach Carl Mattei said.
While top-ranked Highlands Ranch is playing at a level far superior to everyone else in the state and likely will be a title-game team, the Raiders are the only club to lose by single digits to the Falcons (70-63 last month).
Now, a win over ThunderRidge, avenging a 45-42 loss to the Grizzlies on Jan. 9, has Regis Jesuit back in the conversation of elite 5A teams.
“We felt like we should have come out with it last time, but we were nervous because it was our first big varsity game,” Regis forward Katie Heckman said. “People were underestimating us early in the season, but we just keep proving them wrong.”
The Raiders (13-7, 6-2) won this one in the paint, as the 6-foot-4 Heckman totaled 14 points and seven rebounds. Point guard Marquelle Dent also scored 14.
ThunderRidge (15-5, 6-2) made only seven shots inside the 3-point line.
“Coach (Bill Bradley) told us we weren’t going to get a lot inside because of their height and athleticism,” said Grizzlies guard Carlie Needles, whose 20 points vaulted the junior over 1,000 for her career. “He said if we got inside we had to shot fake. We tried doing that, but it was easier to shoot outside.”
The Grizzlies indeed fired away from the perimeter, but their 7-0 advantage in 3s made didn’t tell the story. Regis Jesuit jumped to a 9-0 lead (the Raiders fell behind 12-0 in the first matchup) and withstood a ThunderRidge surge that cut it to 30-26 at the break.
“We didn’t panic like we usually do,” Mattei said.
The Raiders pulled away in the second half, with coast-to-coast baskets by Dent to end the third quarter and begin the fourth quarter putting them in command.
ThunderRidge 8 18 7 13 — 46
Regis Jesuit 19 11 11 17 — 58
ThunderRidge — Needles 5 7-10 20, Jelniker 2 0-0 4, Riley 1 4-5 7, Peterson 0 0-0 0, Langas 3 0-1 6, Rusk 3 0-0 9, Chase 0 0-1 0, Koslosky 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 11-17 46.
Regis Jesuit — Heckman 6 2-3 14, Rooney 3 5-6 11, O’Neil 2 0-0 4, Dent 4 6-8 14, Hall 2 3-4 7, Revels 3 2-3 8, Ward 0 0-0 0, Kershisnik 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 18-24 58.
Three-point goals — Needles 3, Rusk 3, Riley. Total fouls — ThunderRidge 20, Regis Jesuit 16. Fouled out — Hall.
