Takeaways from the Regis Jesuit-Highlands Ranch matchup

Neil Devlin

February 10, 2021 @ 09:00 AM

Regis Jesuit versus Highlands Ranch always attracts interest ... even with limited fans. On Tuesday night, the visiting R.J. Raiders earned a 58-53 road decision in the Class 5A Continental League, one that rippled throughout Colorado’s big-school programs. Trust us, it was one that had a following. To wit:   --- Six-foot senior [player_tooltip player_id="116818" first="Samantha" last="Jones"] led all scorers with 21 points for Regis Jesuit, which has only two 12<sup>th</sup>-graders. The unsigned 2021 also contributed eight rebounds as the Raiders won on Highlands Ranch’s court for only the second time in coach Carl Mattei’s 17 years. “I can’t believe she doesn’t have a scholarship,” the coach said.   --- 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="207077" first="Jordan" last="Jones"] (5-11) added 15 points despite missing five free throws (she was 5-of-10).   --- Avery Van Sickle, headed to Washington and PGH-Colorado No. 2 in 2021, again saw limited time after returning from a bone spur in a knee, but scored nine of her 11 points in the fourth quarter.   --- The Raiders trailed by nine points with 5:43 to play, but Mattei said guard pressure was vital and turned it around.   --- [player_tooltip player_id="95216" first="Savitri" last="Jackson"] (2023) added eight points and Madden McHugh (2022) contributed three.   --- For Highlands Ranch (4-2, 3-1), ever-present in the league and classification chase, had a chance to put it away with a 20-point third quarter, but scored only nine over the final 6 minutes. [player_tooltip player_id="95123" first="Payton" last="Muma"], PGH-Colorado No. 4 and headed to Gonzaga, went for 15 points, and [player_tooltip player_id="95139" first="Tia" last="Slade"] (PGH-Colorado No. 16 and signed with Colorado Mesa) added another 15, but the Raiders defense came alive, also limiting [player_tooltip player_id="95179" first="Alex" last="Pirog"] (PGH-Colorado No. 9 2022) to six points.   “We have so many younger players and we’re developing them,” Mattei said.   Coming up – Regis Jesuit, clearly the league favorite, will have a tester against powerful Valor Christian on Feb. 20, a nonleaguer in Aurora that also will attract attention in 5A.