(Brie Thomas/CHSAANow.com)
BOULDER — Fifth-seeded Fairview girls basketball got off to a good start in the Class 5A state tournament.
The Knights pulled out a 61-44 victory over No. 12 Eaglecrest on Tuesday night.
From the start of the game to the very end, it was the Fairview offense that took the game over. The Knights were able to effectively swing the ball around the perimeter, finding open looks all night long.
It took Eaglecrest 6:55 to put its first point on the board. By that time, Fairview had jumped out to an 11-0 lead, and the points kept coming throughout the game.
At the end of the first quarter the Lady Knights were up 15-4 over the Raptors.
It was the glass work that helped Fairview maintain a double-digit lead the entire night. Junior Grace O’Neil led Fairview with 21 points, more than half of them coming off second-chance offensive rebounds.
The second quarter couldn’t have started off any better, asFairview’s leading scorer on the season Ashley Panem finally found her groove, knocking down an early 3-pointer.
It became evident early in the second quarter that Fairview came in with an offensive plan, and that plan was well executed. It was able to exploit Eaglecrest’s defense with the dribble-drive penetration and kicking the ball out to find open players.
Fairview doubled its first half points alone in the second quarter and the offense wasn’t done yet. They led 31-13 at halftime.
Eaglecrest coach Tim Brennan gave credit to Fairview and how its offense played against his girls.
“They are well coached, very senior-heavy and it shows that they have played together for an awful long time,” Brennan said.
But Fairview can’t attribute the win solely to its offense, as it was able to force 19 Eaglecrest 19 turnovers. Eaglecrest constantly found itself being double teamed in the post, and that ultimately led to bad passes and missed opportunities.
“We feel like we can handle pressure pretty well,” Brennan said about the constant double team. “When we did break their press, though, at least in the first half, we were turning the ball over quite a bit.”
Not only did the double team in the post provide trouble for Eaglecrest but Fairview’s fast traps and man defense seemed to give them some trouble as well.
“I thought they did a great job, we were able to get a few traps and our rotations were there,” Fairview coach Rod Beauchamp said of his team. “We were able to convert in transition off of it.”
With the fast pace that the Knights provided, Eaglecrest hit foul trouble early. The Raptors had six team fouls in the first half and eight in the second half. This gave Fairview the edge in the free throw game, making 10-of-13 from the line. Eaglecrest was 4-of-8.
It seemed as though Fairview’s offense gained more confidence as the game wore on, never allowing Eaglecrest to catch up.
It also provided Fairview a boost heading into the next round, when the Knights will take on No. 4 Brighton this Friday. Brighton had a first-round bye.