COLORADO SPRINGS - If Diana Rolniak hadn't scored Wednesday night, the Regis sophomore still would have been the most dominating presence on the court at World Arena.

The 6-foot-3 center had nine blocked shots and nine rebounds to help the Raiders to a 76-38 victory against Palmer in the Class 5A girls state basketball tournament.

Rolniak scored 12 points as the No. 1 seed in the Kaye Garms Region advanced to the round of eight Friday.

Rolniak blocked four shots in the first half, forcing the No. 5 Terrors to search for points from the perimeter.

With a stifling pressure defense Regis implemented off and on throughout the first half, it was clear by halftime the Raiders (24-1) would win their 21st consecutive game.

Rolniak leads the state in blocks, and the nine were not a season best. She had 12 in a game earlier this season.

"She is so intimidating inside because she has great length and she jumps so well," Regis coach Carl Mattei said. "It affected everything they tried to do inside."

Mattei said he knows what Rolniak will bring to the defense, but against Palmer, he was impressed with her offense.

"Defense is her favorite part of the game, but (Wednesday), I saw her step up offensively," he said. "She was running the floor with the guards and taking it to the basket."

The Raiders led 35-13 at halftime after Meghan Winters made a three-pointer just before the buzzer. The Raiders began the second half with an 8-0 run. Mariah Williams' layup after a Palmer turnover made it 43-13.

Like Rolniak, Williams was a constant thorn in Palmer's side. The sophomore point guard led the Raiders' transition game and had six steals and 10 points.

"When Mariah gets going, she's hard to contain," Mattei said.

Mindy Nielson made both of her three-point attempts and led the Raiders with 13 points, and Winters added 10.

Leah Fitzgerald led Palmer (20-5) with 12 points.

Palmer......5	8	7	18	-	38
Regis......17	18	16	25	-	76

P - Tina Perko 1 2-3 4, Abbey Banta 1 1-4 3, Leah Fitzgerald 3 6-12 12, Ariane Brown 3 5-5 11, Emmalee Fladland 1 0-0 3, Katilyn Lowen 1 2-2 4, Amy Holcomb 0 1-2 1. Totals 10 17-28 38.

R - Mariah Williams 4 2-4 10, Diana Rolniak 5 2-2 12, Megan O'Dorisio 4 0-1 11, Meghan Winters 4 0-0 10, Mindy Nielson 5 1-2 13, Kelsey Roben 2 0-0 4, Mary Bokenkamp 3 0-0 7, Ruth Case 1 0-1 2, T'Keyah Shealy 3 1-1 7. Totals 31 6-11 76.

Three-point goals - P, Fladland; R, O'Dorisio 3, Winters 2, Nielson 2, Bokenkamp.

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