That Taylor Torres got into foul trouble in the first quarter was simply icing on the cake for Regis Jesuit in Saturday’s Class 5A girls Great 8.
Torres, the Palmer senior who came into the day averaging 20 points per game, picked up her second foul midway through the first quarter and would sit until midway through the second.
“You could see it in their eyes — their leader was stunned,” said Regis Jesuit coach Carl Mattei. “It was almost like a heavyweight fight. It was like, boom, we had her down for the count. She bounced back up, but with her two fouls and our team up, it put them on the canvas for a little bit.”
Still, Regis Jesuit was already up 8-0 when Torres picked up her second foul. The Raiders scored the game’s first 15 points, and led 21-3 early in the second quarter.
The No. 1 Raiders would go on to roll second-seeded Palmer, 64-39. Regis Jesuit enjoyed a 20-point margin for the majority of the game.
“Once we got the 20-point cushion,” Mattei said, “it was just maintaining score.”
Regis Jesuit’s masterful defensive performance in the first half kept Palmer from making a field goal for the game’s first nine minutes and 51 seconds.
“Our defensive pressure is pretty tough, and if we can crank it up a little bit, we’ve got quite a bit of length,” Mattei said. “We were able to stymie them a little bit.”
His team would stymie Torres all night. She finished with seven points on 3-of-12 shooting, and fouled out in the fourth quarter.
Katie Heckman (13 points, five rebounds) and Diani Akigbogun (eight points, 13 rebounds) were dominant down low, and Regis Jesuit got 14 points apiece from Marquelle Dent and Kelsi Lidge.
“Marquelle can lead like no other,” Mattei said. “Best point guard in the state.”
Ryan Casey: 303-954-1983 or rcasey@denverpost.com
