Legacy edges league foe Monarch to win Class 5A girls basketball title

BOULDER - Playing a team three times in a season presents its own challenges. The opponents know each other so well, it's tough to come up with a new twist, or two, that the other team hasn't seen.

Such was the case Friday as Front Range League rivals Monarch (Louisville) and Legacy (Broomfield) decided the Class 5A girls basketball state championship. Unlike their previous two meetings, though, Legacy emerged with a 58-51 victory that netted the school's first basketball title.

Senior Kailey Edwards, who will continue her playing career at the University of Denver, sealed matters from the free-throw line, never flinching before a two-game crowd of 4,741 at the Coors Events Center.

Edwards scored a game-best 20 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and made four assists, but it was her prowess from the stripe that meant the most. She sank 12 of 14 free-throw attempts overall, including 7-for-8 in the fourth quarter.

All of Legacy's 16 points in the final quarter came from the free-throw line, and they hit 28 of 35 attempts in the game.On the other side, Monarch went 11-for-14 from the line.

"I'm a senior, and that's my job to come through with the game on the line," said Edwards, who also hit the winning layup with 1 second remaining in a quarterfinal win against Doherty. "We were ready for this game. Coach (Craig Van Patten) had told us it's always hard to beat a team three times in a season."

Monarch had bested Legacy 65-58 and 66-54 during the regular season, and the second win cliched the league title for the Coyotes (22-6).

"As a team we talked about knowing we could beat them," Van Patten said. "With the first two losses we knew there were some things we could fix."

Monarch stormed to a quick advantage in this one, too, before the teams largely traded the lead throughout the first half, after which Legacy held a 28-26 margin. The Lightning (24-4) established an all-important cushion over the final portion of the third quarter, though, as Monarch struggled from the field. The Coyotes shot only 3-for-14 in the quarter, and Legacy led 42-34 entering the final 8 minutes.

The Lightning never trailed in the fourth, although Monarch was within a possession of the lead for the last half of the quarter. A steal and subsequent layup by Rebecca Richmond made it 52-51 with 26 seconds remaining, but those were the last points for the Coyotes. Richmond, a senior who will play at Navy, scored eight of her 11 points in the fourth to keep it close.

Edwards, who also had a key rebound two possessions later, Jordan Salaz and Emily Glen (16 points) hit free throws to provide the final margin. Those three are the only seniors on the Lightning roster, and they keyed a playoff run that highlighted the team's ability to perform in the clutch. Legacy's three previous playoff wins were by a combined nine points.

"This is a tribute to our three great seniors," Van Patten said. "They are big-time leaders and they got it done for us."

Legacy, which lost in the 2010 final to Denver East, became the first Front Range League team to claim the trophy since Horizon in 1993.

Monarch, which last played for the championship in 2009, received 13 points from Ashton Davis, and 10 apiece from Jordan Eisler and Alexus Johnson. After scoring 26 points against Regis Jesuit in the semifinals, Johnson could not get in a rhythm offensively. She made only three of 12 shots.