DENVER | The Regis Jesuit girls basketball team finished its Final Four contest with an epically good second half performance in a one-point win Thursday.
That momentum most definitely did not extend to the opening half of Saturday’s Class 6A state championship game at the Denver Coliseum.
The seventh-seeded Raiders — whose second half in the semifinals included a 20-0 run — managed just two points in the opening quarter against rival and fourth-seeded Valor Christian and had just even at halftime, which built a 24-point hole. A much better second half brought Regis Jesuit closer, but the Eagles prevailed for a 58-44 victory.
“Sad that it was a tale of two halves and we didn’t show up the way we needed to in the first,” Raiders coach Jordan Kasemodel said. “We didn’t execute and have that fire from the start. …It’s tough when shots aren’t going in and you aren’t taking them. Definitely frustrating way to start.”
The Raiders (20-8) appeared in the state final for the first time since 2021, when they also lost to Valor Christian. Regis Jesuit remains with three all-time state championships, which came in 2009 and then back-to-back in 2013 and 2014, and dropped to 3-7 in program history in title games.
Senior Hana Belibi had all seven of the Raiders’ points in the first half and the Harvard-bound star finished with a game-high 26 in her final prep game of four varsity seasons, while senior Coryn Watts added 10 points and junior Jane Rumpf four.
When the teams met back in December, Regis Jesuit poured in 23 points in the opening quarter and had tallied 42 by halftime on its way to a 78-72 victory.
The rematch was quite the opposite, as the Raiders were limited to just two Belibi free throws in the entire opening eight minutes (which came with just over a minute left in the quarter), which was due to the combination Valor Christian’s defense and proficiency on the defensive boards.
The Eagles paid particular defensive attention to Belibi, who had 35 points in the previous matchup. Regis Jesuit committed a variety of turnovers and didn’t make its first field goal until 10-plus minutes into the game on a Belibi jumper.
Meanwhile, six different Eagles scored and a late burst of seven points by junior Quinn VanSickle — who had poured in 31 points in a Final Four win over Cherokee Trail — made it a 31-7 contest at halftime.
VanSickle tacked on two more free throws to start the second half to further increase the lead before Regis Jesuit got some traction. Shut out in the first half, Watts knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and had eight points in the period to help the Raiders shave four points off the deficit.
Just as it had against Legend in the Final Four — in which it erased a 14-point deficit after three quarters — Regis Jesuit turned up its pressure and it paid dividends, however it couldn’t get any closer than the final margin of 14 points.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2024 CLASS 6A GIRLS BASKETBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
March 9 at Denver Coliseum
(4) VALOR CHRISTIAN 58, (7) REGIS JESUIT 44
Score by quarters:
Regis Jesuit 2 5 20 17 — 44
Valor Christian 11 20 16 11 — 58
REGIS JESUIT (44)
Jane Rumpf 1 2-2 4, Mallory Neff 0 0-0 0 0, Coryn Watts 4 0-0 10, Hana Belibi 10 6-7 26, Iliana Greene 1 0-0 2, Izzy Davies 1 0-0 2, Alice Lynett 0 0-0 0, Jada Hodges 0 0-0 0, Lexi Hernandez 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 8-11 44.
VALOR CHRISTIAN (58)
Peyton Jones 3 2-2 10, Emma Lytle 3 0-0 6, Camryn Gunter 6 0-0 13, Quinn VanSickle 5 11-11 22, Kate Fuessel 2 1-2 5, Eva Parks 1 0-0 2, Bella Spence 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 14-15 58.
3-point field goals — Regis Jesuit (2): Coryn Watts 2. Valor Christian (4): Peyton Jones 2, Camryn Gunter, Quinn VanSickle. Total fouls — Regis Jesuit 20, Valor Christian 16. Fouled out — None. Technical fouls — None.