DENVER | The Regis Jesuit girls basketball team gained a measure of revenge for an earlier loss and punched its ticket to the Class 6A Final Four at the same time Thursday night.
Spurred on by a regular season loss to Cherry Creek — and the chance to get the program back to the semifinals for the first time since 2021 — the seventh-seeded Raiders put together a gritty second half on their way to a 50-44 victory over the second-seeded Bruins.
Senior Coryn Watts had 17 points, while senior Hana Belibi added 11 and three others chipped in with seven points apiece as coach Jordan Kasemodel’s Regis Jesuit claimed the Charlotte Jorgensen Region title and a spot in the March 7 Final Four.
“I’ve envisioned this this last year and I just wanted it so bad for the girls,” Kasemodel said. “They put in the time and they put in the reps, so this is a priceless moment. It’s really cool to see.”
The Raiders (19-7) will get a rematch with another team that they lost to during the regular season in No. 3 Legend, which topped No. 6 Horizon 62-35. The other semifinal will pit No. 1 Cherokee Trail against No. 4 Valor Christian.
Kasemodel and her coaching staff took a look back at the Jan. 9 meeting with Cherry Creek (which prevailed) 60-56 and also took a look back at the Bruins’ Sweet 16 win over Arapahoe, which was their first without star guard Tianna Chambers, who was lost to a torn ACL.
Chambers had 23 points in the first meeting with Regis Jesuit, so that absence was big, but Cherry Creek still had plenty to contend with. The Raiders felt they were ready, however.
“I think we were overly prepared and we felt really good about it,” Kasemodel said. “It was just a matter of making shots and getting stops. It was just that simple.”
The third quarter proved pivotal, as Regis Jesuit went on a run to end the quarter after the Bruins tied it at 23-23 in the early stages.
Belibi, the team’s leading scorer, had just one basket in the opening half, but had five in the third quarter to help the Raiders go up eight going into the final quarter.
“We’re definitely not letting that lead go once we get it,” Belibi said. “We did a lot of calming each other down when it got close, so that helped.”
Watts played a big role in that, as she scored quickly in the fourth quarter to give Regis Jesuit a double-digit lead and she helped take care of the ball as Cherry Creek turned up the pressure in an attempt to come back.
The Raiders closed it out with help from hustle plays, which included a ball kept alive by Belibi (who was credited with 13 rebounds) on a miss from junior Iliana Greene that ended up in junior Jane Rumpf going to the free throw line.
Rumpf — who finished with seven points along with fellow juniors Greene and Mallory Neff — made both free throws and then made a huge baseball-style pass to Watts, who scored and was fouled. Though she missed the free throw, that made it a 49-39 game with 1:33 left that essentially put it out of reach.
Now, Regis Jesuit can turn its attention towards Legend, which won a 68-53 meeting Feb. 16 with the Continental League title on the line. It was a game in which the Raiders led by three points at halftime, but got outscored 19-5 in the third quarter.
“We played a great first half against them a couple of weeks ago and a not so great second half,” Kasemodel said. “We’ll be ready.”
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
(7) REGIS JESUIT 50, (2) CHERRY CREEK 44
Score by quarters:
Regis Jesuit 12 8 17 13 — 50
Cherry Creek 9 9 11 15 — 44
REGIS JESUIT (50)
Jane Rumpf 1 4-6 7, Mallory Neff 3 0-0 7, Coryn Watts 6 4-10 17, Hana Belibi 3 5-6 11, Iliana Greene 2 3-4 7, Elizabeth Davies 0 1-2 1, Jada Hodges 0 0-0 0, Alice Lynett 0 0-0 0, Alexiah Toval 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 17-28 50.
CHERRY CREEK (44)
Addison Beck 6 0-0 14, Molly Dorighi 0 2-2 2, Julia Leach 1 0-0 2, Braelynn Barnett 2 2-2 6, A’Neya Chambers 4 1-1 9, Mireya Johnson 1 0-0 2, Sophia Baal 3 0-0 7, Arielle Boyd 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 5-5 44.
3-point field goals — Regis Jesuit (3): Mallory Neff, Jane Rumpf, Coryn Watts. Cherry Creek (3): Addison Beck 2, Sophia Baal. Total fouls — Regis Jesuit 10, Cherry Creek 22. Fouled out — Regis Jesuit: Jane Rumpf. Cherry Creek: Molly Dorighi. Technical fouls — None.