BOULDER - For all but one team with championship aspirations, the season ends in disappointment.

For the Legacy girls basketball team, the 69-54 loss to defending Class 5A champion Highlands Ranch on Friday night was a crash ending to the Lightning's championship dream.

But for a team that never had advanced past the second round of the state tournament before, the season could not be considered anything less than a success. With a 24-4 record and visit to the championship game, the Lightning put itself on the map in a state considered a hotbed of talent for girls basketball and raised the bar for future seasons.

"We have some big shoes to fill, but we have a lot of young talent, and now we know what this feels like," Legacy coach Jody Welch said. "We got a taste of it, and we're definitely going to want to come back."

In the first quarter it looked as if the game would develop into a championship duel between two Division I recruits, Legacy's Melissa Jones, who will attend Baylor, and Falcons standout Jaclyn Thoman (Boston College).

Jones had seven first-quarter points, and Thoman scored eight, including a three-pointer from the baseline that gave the Falcons a 17-10 lead and helped them start building separation from the Lightning.

The duel didn't quite pan out, though, although both Jones (25 points) and Thoman (23 points) led their teams in scoring. Highlands Ranch had too many weapons for Legacy, which is located in Broomfield.

Both players kept scoring, but Thoman, the Rocky Mountain News' Colorado Ms. Basketball last season, simply didn't need to do it all for her team as it opened a 21-point second-quarter lead.

"Everyone on their team can score, and that really hurt us," said Legacy freshman Quincey Noonan, who scored 11 points.

"We fell into their flow of the game in the first half. We came out in the second half with more emotion, but I guess the hole we dug ourselves into was too deep," Jones said. "They are an amazing team. At times nobody can stop them."

Legacy's dream didn't die easily. Jones wouldn't let it. Although her team trailed 39-20 to start the second half, Jones practically glowed with a look of determination that spilled over to her teammates.

Jones scored six points as the Lightning started the third quarter with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 39-27. Noonan, the Lightning's next star player, got in on the act, scoring on consecutive possessions to whittle the margin to 49-39 to start the fourth quarter.

"I think her determination did spread," Noonan said. "Once one person got going then it raised the rest of the team to play at that level."

Summarized Welch: "We knew with the personnel we had this year that we had a good shot. It really came together well."