WINNEMUCCA - With just nine players in uniform due to sickness or injury, the Lowry High School freshmen girls basketball team was still able to pull out a 51-40 victory over Elko on Tuesday afternoon in Winnemucca.
"Our freshmen team lost to Elko four times last year, so it was nice to get one against them," said LHS head coach Clay Sagers. "We were wondering how it would go. Two were out with injuries and two more were sick. I had two players that played that were sick. I was impressed with the way the girls played."
The Lady Bucks' Caitlynn Cooper did most of the damage as she scored a season-high 30 points. She finished with 14 points in the first half and added 16 more in the second half.
Maria Hernandez contributed nine points, but the coach noted her strong defensive play.
"She brought a lot of energy and was everywhere," Sagers said. "She was in the face of the Elko players and knocked the ball around. She helped us out and I was impressed with her."
Lowry (7-8 overall, 4-1 Division I-A, 1-0 Ruby Mountain) led 13-8 after eight minutes of play, with 10 of those points coming from Cooper. The Indians cut the deficit to four points at halftime and tied the game early in the third quarter, when the Lady Bucks regrouped to grab the advantage back for good.
Lowry closed out the fourth quarter on a 13-6 spurt, with eight of those points by Cooper.
Emalee Brown netted four points for the Lady Bucks, Shauna Smith, Maggie Tyree and Haley Rolando added two points apiece and Kelsea Perkinson had one.
"It got scary for a little bit when the game was tied but the girls held their composure," added the coach. "They are getting a lot better and playing more as a team."
Lowry hit the road on Friday, Jan. 11, and came away with an easy 52-12 victory over Dayton. Cooper, once again was the leading scorer for Lowry, as she surpassed the Dust Devils' team total with 16 points. Banesa Trigueros finished with 12 to equal the Dayton output.
The Lady Bucks jumped out to a 14-6 lead in the first quarter and held the Dust Devils to six points in the final three periods, while scoring 36.
"It was a chance to spread around the playing time," Sagers said. "All of the girls scored and that was nice to see."
Hernandez scored six points for Lowry, Ana Gonzalez and Perkinson added four each and Shauna Smith, Shandra Smith, Megan Villarreal, Brown and Tyree had two points apiece.
Lowry is at home on Saturday for a pair of games, beginning with Fernley at 9 a.m. The Lady Bucks face Spring Creek at 1:30 p.m.[[In-content Ad]]
