FORT COLLINS | The biggest lesson for a young basketball team is learning how to win big games on the road.
The Regis Jesuit girls basketball team did just that Tuesday night, as the Raiders went up to Fossil Ridge and stole a Class 5A Sweet 16 contest from the SaberCats.
Regis Jesuit scored nine of the last 10 points, capped by sophomore Fran Belibi’s go-ahead layup, and coach Carl Mattei’s 11th-seeded group — with just one senior on the floor — rallied for a 49-45 victory over sixth-seeded Fossil Ridge. The Raiders moved on to the Great 8, where they will face third-seeded Horizon at 8:30 p.m. Friday in one of four quarterfinals at the Denver Coliseum.
Aurora’s other Great 8 team, Grandview, had considerably less trouble advancing with an 82-44 win over Arapahoe.
No. 4 Ralston Valley meets No. 12 Cherry Creek at 4 p.m., followed by top-seeded Highlands Ranch vs. No. 9 Lakewood at 5:30 p.m. ahead of the second-seeded Wolves against No. 7 Doherty at 7 p.m.
The Regis Jesuit program is no stranger to the Denver Coliseum as it has been a pitstop on the way to Boulder, where the Raiders have won three state championships, the last coming in the 2013-14 season. The program hasn’t been back to the Great 8 since, but earned its way there by prevailing over Fossil Ridge in rematch of the 2013-14 5A state final.
The Great 8, Final Four and championship will all be at the Denver Coliseum.
Regis Jesuit pushed out to a 13-4 lead after one quarter of the Sweet 16 contest, but Fossil Ridge reeled them back in with considerable pressure.
The SaberCats knocked four points off the lead by halftime, evened the score by the end of three and took the lead with just 2:30 remaining when they hit two technical free throws as the result of a Raiders player checking in who wasn’t in the official scorebook.
But freshman Jada Moore — who led the Raiders with 13 points, her season-high — hit the third of her three 3-pointers to get the Raiders almost back to even.
Regis Jesuit tied the game up at 45-45, then Belibi scored after a Fossil Ridge turnover to give it the lead for good.
Belibi finished with 12 points and 18 rebounds, sophomore Sidney Weigand scored nine points and junior Emma Wrede contributed seven in the win for the Raiders.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
(11) REGIS JESUIT 49, (6) FOSSIL RIDGE 45
Score by quarters:
Regis Jesuit 13 10 7 19 — 49
Fossil Ridge 4 14 12 15 — 45
