GREENWOOD VILLAGE — Perhaps they’ll soon be calling her Q-Noo, or something like that, because Quincey Noonan definitely has reached nickname status.
While the Legacy senior has been a hefty contributor for the Lightning since she was a freshman, she has fully arrived as one of Class 5A girls basketball’s marquee players.
Noonan, in her first season as a full-time point guard, helped the No. 9 Lightning scorch Cherry Creek in the early going Friday night at Lyle Gymnasium en route to a 63-46 nonleague win.
“She’s a stud,” Cherry Creek coach Missy Steck said of the University of Denver-bound Noonan.
The only complaint was that the 5-foot-11 Noonan was held scoreless in the second half after blitzing the Bruins for 23 in the opening two quarters. In fairness, she didn’t have to be as aggressive after helping the Lightning build a 39-20 halftime advantage.
“Early on, I saw a lot of openings for myself,” Noonan said. “They did a real good job defensively on me in the second half but left other girls open.”
Kailey Edwards added 15 points for Legacy, and center Carli Moreland registered a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. The Lightning opened the game on an 8-0 burst while limiting the Bruins to one shot during the flurry.
“We came out really strong, and I don’t think they were expecting that,” Moreland said. “We focused a lot on defense. It was a huge part of this game.”
Nine players scored for unranked Cherry Creek (2-1), but none more than the nine points by reserve Glenn Gurule.
“Legacy came out on their ‘A’ game and played really, really insane,” Steck said. “They were on fire.”
Noonan had 13 points in the first quarter and 20 in fewer than 11 minutes (for the sake of perspective, she was on pace for nearly 60 at that point).
“We try not to lose our intensity, but we obviously did there in the second half,” Noonan said. “We still have a lot to work on.”
Meanwhile, teammates might be working on a nickname more creative than the current “Q.”
Legacy 20 19 10 14 — 63
Cherry Creek 13 7 11 15 — 46
Legacy — Leister 1 0-1 2, Moreland 3 4-7 10, Edwards 5 3-3 15, Noonan 5 11-12 23, Dunahay 2 0-2 4, Glen 0 0-0 0, Eisler 0 0-0 0, Akindele 2 5-10 9. Totals 18 23-35 63.
Cherry Creek — White 3 0-2 7, Springer 3 0-0 7, Dietrich 2 0-0 4, Haines 3 2-3 8, Eppard 2 0-0 4, Hopko 0 1-3 1, Scavarda 0 2-4 2, Gurule 2 4-4 9, Coons 2 0-0 4. Totals 17 9-16 46.
Three-point goals — L, Noonan 2, Edwards 2. C, White, Springer, Gurule. Fouled out — Eppard, Coons.
