Ladies play to record crowds. Regis, Broomfield are c-h-a-m-p-s! (3/15/09)

by Mary Kay Mauro

Great atmosphere Friday night . . . a boat load of people (and then some) came out to watch heavily favored and undefeated Broomfield take on the upset-minded Mullen Mustangs in the 4A game before a record crowd of 7,420. It was a dog fight, marred with fouls and free throws but the Eagles found a way to defend their title and notch their third consecutive state championship, 49-47.

How do you spell relief? Ask the Regis Raiders and they'll say, C-H-A-M-P-S! That's right . . .the monkey's off their backs, a huge weight has been lifted, whatever cliche you want to use it all means that Regis won the 5A state championship . . . FINALLY! After three tries in the past four years, a team of mostly seniors who had been together since the 7^th grade played their hearts out. The Raiders got off to a quick start, and as soon as the pups, rather the young Monarch Coyotes shook off a little big game jitters . . . it was a Front Range-Continental League clash that went down to the last moments of the game. After building a 10-point lead in the second half, it almost looked like deja vu for the Raiders as their lead dwindled. But this year was different . . . as Mariah Williams, Mary Bokenkamp and Diana Rolniak told me after the game they were not leaving the court without the gold ball. In the fourth quarter, Bokenkamp didn't like that it was a two possession game, so as the game was winding down and the Raiders had the ball on offense Williams penetrated the Coyote defense, dished the ball out to the wing and an open Bokenkamp drilled a three with about :49 left to give the Raiders some breathing room and eventually the win, 44-37 in front of a record crowd of 8,688.

Crazier things could have happened since the Coyotes registered a 15-point victory over the three-time defending champs Highlands Ranch (my choice to repeat this year) in the semis; and, crushed ThunderRidge's dreams of a final four appearance the week before in the Great Eight. Could the young Coyotes (only three seniors) defeat their third consecutive Continental League power within a week? It was not meant to be . . . Regis completes the Continental League's dominance in the decade with the 5A title.