The Fossil Ridge High School girls basketball team’s depth was tested this past week, as they went 1-1 without senior forward Kate Davis. 

Davis is third on the team in scoring, and was coming off a 17-point performance in their last home game in a win against Boulder. However, a nagging knee issue was enough to keep her out of home games against both Broomfield and Monarch. 

The Sabercats started slow on offense against the Broomfield Eagles, only scoring five points during the first five minutes. Coach Jamie Menefee was quite displeased with the team’s inability to score. 

“I thought our offense was historically bad in the first quarter. I made the comment that we looked like a third grade team,” Menefee says.

Despite the below average scoring, Fossil only trailed 11-9 after the first quarter. This was thanks in part to their outstanding defense, which is a major piece of pride for both teams. 

“It was two really physically and mentally tough teams,” Menefee says. “The game would never be described as pretty, but that’s what both of our defenses try and turn it into.”

The defenses continued to reign supreme for three quarters, with the Sabercats and the Eagles tied at 33 after three quarters. During the early stretch Fossil was led offensively by Carmen Arkin, who stepped up big for a career-high 14 points to keep the Sabercats competitive. 

Fossil’s offense came alive during the fourth quarter, scoring 22 points to propel the Sabercats to a crucial 55-45 victory. Key contributions came from Ella Lavigne, who led the team with 17 points. Another player who came up big was senior Andrea Walser, whose five points in the fourth helped push both momentum and the lead further in Fossil’s favor. 

“It was pretty exciting because I joined the team late so it was great to be there with all of my teammates cheering for me,” Walser says.

Unfortunately the Sabercats’ good fortune ran out in their matchup against the fourth ranked Monarch Coyotes. 

Fossil once again found themselves trailing early, as Monarch flew out to a 14-2 lead halfway through the first quarter. The Sabercats cut the lead to six after the first thanks to 10 early points from Lavigne. Lavigne finished the game with a career-high 24 points, finding more of a scoring role in the absence of Davis. 

The Sabercats continued to hang close heading into halftime, only trailing 31-26. Sophomore Gianna Leone was a contributor on both ends of the floor, with seven points in the first half and as Fossil’s key paint protector on defense. Leone usually comes off the bench for Fossil, but the injury to Davis opened up the spot for Leone with the starting five. Leone impressed across her two starts, averaging 6.5 points and 8 rebounds, proving herself as a major part of this year’s team. 

“In my opinion, we’ve got six starters,” Menefee says. “[Leone] plays the same minutes as some of our starters anyways, so that was not a big adjustment.”

But Fossil’s luck ran out in the third, as they were outscored 16-6 in the third, falling into a 15-point deficit. A late comeback attempt from the Sabercats was not enough, as they lost to Monarch 57-47. This marks the team’s first loss in conference play, falling to 5-1 against Front Range League Opponents. Fossil finished 10-1 in the conference last year, with the only loss once again coming against Monarch. 

But the Sabercats will look to get back on track as they play their third consecutive home game against Prairie View on Tuesday, January 24 at 7:00 p.m.