AURORA | A capsule preview of the 2024 Class 6A girls basketball state tournament Great 8 contest between Regis Jesuit and Cherry Creek scheduled for Feb. 29, 2024:
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2024 CLASS 6A GREAT 8 GIRLS BASKETBALL STATE PLAYOFF GAME
No. 7 Regis Jesuit (18-7) vs. No. 2 Cherry Creek (21-4)
Feb. 29, 7 p.m. at Denver Coliseum
BREAKDOWN: Regis Jesuit and Cherry Creek will face off in the playoffs for only the second time, with the other meeting coming in a 2018 Sweet 16 contest won by the Raiders, who went on to make the then-Class 5A state championship game. The programs have met twice in the past two seasons in regular season play, however, as the Bruins won a 60-56 non-league game on the Raiders’ home floor on Jan. 9. Junior Tianna Chambers had 23 points and junior A’neya Chambers 18 in the victory for Cherry Creek, while Regis Jesuit countered with 20 from senior Hana Belibi and 19 from senior Coryn Watts. The Bruins also won a regular season meeting in the 2023 regular season by two points …Regis Jesuit is in the Great 8 for the seventh time in the past eight seasons, but hasn’t been to the semifinals since a runner-up season in 2021. The Raiders have won three all-time state championships, with the last coming in 2014. …Cherry Creek has advanced to the Great 8 for the fifth time in the past six seasons and made the Final Four three times in the past four appearances. The Bruins’ lone state championship came in 2019.
REGIS JESUIT: Coach Jordan Kasemodel’s Raiders dropped a game to fellow-Great 8 qualifier and No. 3 Legend with the Continental League championship on the line Feb. 16, but bounced back with a pair of playoffs wins on their home floor. Regis Jesuit downed No. 26 Eaglecrest 53-34 in the opening round and followed that with a 69-61 victory over No. 23 Denver East in the Sweet 16. Senior Hana Belibi has been in top form in the postseason as she has averaged 18.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per contest, while seniors Coryn Watts has averaged 15.5 points and junior Jane Rumpf 11.0 in the playoffs. …For the season, Belibi (a Harvard recruit) is the team’s leading scorer at 17.8 points per contest with Watts next at 16.5, followed by Rumpf and junior Iliana Greene at 9.5 and 9.0, respectively. Belibi also has a slight edge over Rumpf (8.4 to 8.0) in rebounding average, while Watts dishes out a team-best 4.6 assists per game and also leads the way in steal with an average of 2.6 per contest. Outside shooting has been a particular strength for Regis Jesuit, which has 194 make triples for the season.
CHERRY CREEK: Coach Jorsua Chambers’ Bruins lost in the championship game of the Centennial League Challenge to No. 1 Cherokee Trail, but posted a pair of double-digit wins in the postseason with a 61-29 victory over No. 31 Rangeview in the first round and a 44-28 triumph against No. 15 Arapahoe in the Sweet 16. The Bruins won despite the absence of junior leading scorer Tianna Chambers, who is out with a knee injury. Junior Sophia Baal had 13 points to lead Cherry Creek against Rangeview, while junior A’neya Chambers scored 15 points to set the pace against Arapahoe. In the postseason, A’neya Chambers has averaged 12.5 per contest, followed by junior Braelynn Barnett and Baal (8.0) and junior Molly Dorighi (7.0) …For the season, Tianna Chambers had been the team’s leading scorer at 16 points per game, while A’neya Chambers is next at 9.0 points per game, followed by Barnett (7.4) and Dorighi (6.2). Barnett is the team’s leader on the boards at 4.5 per contest.
WINNER GETS: The Regis Jesuit-Cherry Creek winner advances to the March 7 semifinals where it will face No. 3 Legend, which defeated No. 6 Horizon 60-35.
