BATTLE MOUNTAIN - The Battle Mountain High School varsity girls basketball team finished second in the Longhorn Invitational this past weekend in Battle Mountain.
The Lady Longhorns (8-3) picked up easy wins over Carlin (62-21) and Owyhee (56-13) on Friday to reach the title game on Saturday, where they lost 46-39 to White Pine.
Battle Mountain jumped out to a 16-1 lead against Carlin and substituted freely the entire game in the easy win over the Northern 1A school. The final 30 seconds was played with a running clock, when the Longhorns lead eclipsed 40 points.
Amber Scovil, playing in her first game of the year, led Battle Mountain with 12 points, while Sam Samuelson added 10. Pooja Bhakta, Caitlyn Warwood and Abbie Mikelson each scored eight.
It was much of the same later Friday night, as Battle Mountain jumped out to a 17-2 advantage over Owyhee and cruised to the win. Once again, the running clock was used in the fourth quarter, as the Lady Longhorns built a 40-point lead. Under the new NIAA mercy rule, the clock runs continuously in the second half once a team has a 40-point advantage.
Mikelson and Warwood led Battle Mountain with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Brooklyn Quintana and Scovil each had eight points.
"In these two games it was nice to try and work on a few things offensively," said BMHS head coach Paul Tremayne.
Battle Mountain met up with Ruby Mountain League rival White Pine and kept it close with the Lady Bobcats, but free throw shooting turned out to be the difference. The Lady Longhorns were 6-of-16 from the charity stripe.
Mikelson had a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Kelsey Kroll finished with eight points and five rebounds and Bhakta had eight points.
"The girls played really very well against a good White Pine team," Tremayne said. "Our biggest problem really came from the free throw line. It was nice to see our team compete tonight. The girls are getting a little better each week. If we keep moving in that direction we may possibly become a factor later in the season."
Battle Mountain is off until Thursday, Dec. 29, when it travels to Lovelock to face Pershing County at 3 p.m. The Mustangs are the defending 2A state champions and are 11-1 on the season. Pershing County had its 28-game win streak, dating back to last year, snapped on Friday night with a 43-42 loss at Lowry.
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