Regis made it a perfect 3-for-3 Friday afternoon at the Denver Coliseum.

In only their third season, the Raiders advanced to their third final four, thrashing Rocky Mountain 82-47 in the Class 5A quarterfinals.

Regis (25-1), which remained undefeated in Colorado, shot better than .580 for the game (30-of-51) while eliminating the third-seeded Lobos (16-10). The Raiders had great ball movement, resulting in a lot of open looks that they usually converted.

"We always preach about making the extra pass," Regis coach Carl Mattei said. "If we can move it, swing and get an open shot, we'll do that."

The contest was a rematch from earlier in the season, which the Raiders won 74-49. In that game Rocky Mountain led at halftime and was close until late in the fourth quarter.

With a berth in Wednesday's final four at issue, Regis wanted to shut the door early. The Raiders had a 39-20 lead at halftime, then put away the game by outscoring the Lobos 20-9 in the third.

"We played awesome defense and our shots were falling," Regis sophomore Meghan Winters said. "We just played hard."

Rocky Mountain actually started out strong and had a 7-4 lead 90 seconds into the contest. Jordan Connelly hit a long three-pointer and then scored on a drive down the center of the lane. Ari Curtis then hit a basket going over the top of 6-foot-2 Diana Rolniak.

But Regis controlled things from there. Rolniak, who leads the state in blocked shots, swatted two Lobos shots into the front row, and the Raiders' defense forced Rocky Mountain into 10 first-half turnovers.

Regis spread the wealth on offense, as five players scored six or more points in the first half. Reserve guard Megan O'Dorisio hit three three-pointers, and Mary Bokenkamp hit two more as the Raiders passed around the Lobos' zone defense.

Regis took any suspense out of the contest early in the second half, opening the third with a 10-0 burst. Mariah Williams (15 points) and Winters (13 points) hit threes and four different Raiders scored during that stretch.

"Every time (Regis) had an open look, they nailed it," Rocky Mountain coach Barry Bessert said. "That's a very good basketball team."

The Lobos' loss ended the stellar careers of the Curtis sisters, Alana and Ari. Alana, who will play college ball for Idaho, finished with 10 points and nine rebounds while Ari, who will run track at Drake, added 13 points and five boards.

Rocky Mountain......9	11	9	18	-	47
Regis......20	19	20	23	-	82

RM - Krista Gleiforst 3 0-0 6, Jocelyn Zarling 1 0-2 3, Alana Curtis 4 0-0 10, Amy Raasch 1 0-0 3, Ari Curtis 4 5-7 13, Chelsea Schmitz 0 0-0 0, Jordan Connolly 3 2-2 9, Jenny Johnson 0 3-6 3, Shannon Gertz 0 0-2 0. Totals 16 10-19 47.

R - Mariah Williams 6 2-4 15, Diana Rolniak 2 2-2 6, Megan O'Dorisio 3 0-0 9, Kelsey Roben 2 0-0 5, Mery Bokenkamp 5 0-0 12, Ruth Case 1 1-2 3, Sandra Lehan 0 1-2 1, T'Keyah Shealy 2 4-4 8, Meghan Winters 5 1-1 13, Mindy Neilson 4 2-2 10. Totals 30 13-17 82.

Three-point goals - RM, Al. Curtis 2, Connolly, Raasch, Zarling; Regis, O'Dorisio 3, Bokenkamp 2, Winters 2, Roben, Williams. Fouled out - Al. Curtis.

Back to Top