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BOULDER — Somebody’s strength had to crack Tuesday night between the Legacy and Fairview girls basketball teams.
Class 5A third-ranked Legacy entered the contest as the state’s fourth-highest scoring team at 60.8 points per game. And the Lightning boasted the seventh-leading scorer in the state individually in University of Denver recruit Kailey Edwards (20.0 ppg).
Fairview, meanwhile, came in allowing just 37.7 points per game and hadn’t allowed a foe to score 50 all season.
The Knights’ man-to-man defense didn’t budge.
Led by 5-foot-7 junior guard Katie Kuosman, the Knights shut down Edwards and the Lightning for a 46-39 triumph at home in the Front Range League opener for both teams.
The upset victory in a matchup of two of last year’s state quarterfinalists marked Fairview’s fourth straight and snapped a four-game win streak by LHS.
“It feels great,” FHS coach Rod Beauchamp said. “We weren’t sure about our competition, where we were at. The teams (Fairview beat) were good but they weren’t ranked No. 3. So it’s exciting to get this one.”
Gunning for more defensive firepower, Beauchamp went with guards Kuosman, Betty Yi and Julia D’Amico to start over leading scorers Sarah Kaufman and Sonya Ghosh, and the strategy played out well.
The Knights (5-2, 1-0 Front Range) held Edwards to just seven points in the game, none until she broke through with a layup with 1 minute, 51 seconds to play before halftime.
“She’s a great player, and we knew coming in she was going to be a huge threat,” said Kuosman, who along with Meghan Higgins, guarded Edwards for most of the night. “But I think it was a huge comfort knowing that our posts were there in the help side to help us out so we could play a little bit tighter on her and try and make it a little bit harder.”
Edwards wasn’t the only LHS player to struggle. The Lightning (5-2, 0-1) shot just 21 percent (13 for 61) from the field, including 1 for 17 in the first quarter and 1 for 14 in the third.
Emily Glen, who came in averaging 14.7 points per game for the Lightning, scored just eight. Caitlyn Smith paced the team with 14.
“You can’t shoot (8 for 34) in the first half and expect to win games,” said LHS coach Craig Van Patten, who worried about a lull given that his squad hadn’t played since Dec. 13. “We weren’t very patient. We forced some shots, didn’t make them play defense, forced early shots.”
Kuosman led FHS offensively, too, scoring 12 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
While the Knights attempted 25 fewer field goals than Legacy, seven of their 14 made buckets were 3-pointers.
Kaufman added 11 points for FHS, which split the season series with Legacy last year. And Ghosh hit a pair of big 3s for six points.
The Lightning led at halftime 21-19 and extended the edge to 24-19 with the first three points of the third quarter. But the Knights held them scoreless over the next 8:07.
A post-up by Georgina Ryder made it 37-24 with 6:31 to go in the game, and the Knights held on from there.
“They played good defense,” said Edwards, who got five of her points at the free-throw line. “They were very disciplined.
“We didn’t want to come out with low intensity, and that’s what we did. We could not buy a basket in that first half.”
Fairview 46, Legacy 39
LEGACY (5-2, 0-1)
Lopez 1 0-0 2, Glen 2 2-2 8, Neely 0 0-0 0, Salaz 2 0-0 6, Kuyper 0 0-0 0, Edwards 1 5-8 7, Ca. Smith 6 2-3 14, Co. Smith 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 9-13 39.
FAIRVIEW (5-2, 1-0)
Davenport 0 0-0 0, Lai 1 1-1 3, Higgins 1 0-0 3, Kuosman 2 6-8 12, Yi 1 0-1 3, D’Amico 0 0-0 0, Hyde 1 2-4 4, Ghosh 2 0-0 6, Ryder 2 0-0 4, Kaufman 4 2-2 11. Totals 14 11-16 46.
Score by quarters:
Legacy 5 16 3 15 — 39
Fairview 11 8 14 13 — 46
3-point field goals — Legacy (4): Glen 2, Salaz 2; Fairview (7): Kuosman 2, Ghosh 2, Higgins, Yi, Kaufman. Total fouls — Legacy 19, Fairview 15. Fouled out — Edwards. Technicals — None.
