The Lowry High School junior varsity girls basketball team left intrigue in its two home victories over Dayton and South Tahoe last weekend.
The Lady Bucks (14-1 overall, 9-1 Division I-A North) cruised to a 52-6 win over Dayton on Friday and a 46-24 win over South Tahoe on Saturday.
"You hate playing games like that," said LHS coach Shelly Smith of the Dayton match-up. "My starters probably played just eight minutes in the game. There is not much you can do and you don't want to run the score up."
Lowry led 18-2 after a quarter of play and extended the margin to 40-2 at halftime off the strength of a 22-0 spurt in the second period. The contest quickly went into a running clock in the third quarter based off the NIAA 40-point mercy rule.
The Lady Bucks cut the offensive output in the second half and outscored the Dust Devils 12-4.
Brooklyn Waller led all scorers with 14 points and Caitlynn Cooper joined her in double figures with 10. Kelsea Perkinson contributed eight points, Chelsea Herrera six, Tiana Herrera and Haley Rolando three each and Maddie Mayo, Celeste Esquivel and Maria Hernandez had two apiece.
Lowry was back on its home floor Saturday and found tougher going but still defeated South Tahoe by 22 points.
"The girls played well on both days," Smith said. "They are working hard on defense throughout the entire game."
The Lady Bucks held the Vikings without a point for the first four minutes of the game and used 3-point baskets from Waller and Sierra Thiede to build a 15-5 advantage in the first quarter.
The same duo combined for nine of Lowry's 11 points in the second quarter to help the Lady Bucks double up the Vikings, 26-13, at halftime.
Waller opened the second half with her third 3-pointer of day and the freshman finished with a game-high 17 points. Tiana Herrera and Hall also had baskets in the quarter as Lowry held South Tahoe without a field goal until the 31-second mark.
A basket by Rolando gave Lowry its largest lead at 40-14. Thiede added seven points, Chelsea Herrera had five, Tiana Herrera and Perkinson four each, Hall three and Cooper, Rolando and Esquivel two each.
"I am very proud of all the girls," Smith said. "They work hard every day and they are amazing to coach."
Lowry was on the road at Spring Creek on Jan. 21 and needed overtime to beat the Spartans 41-38. The Lady Bucks opened up an 11-4 lead in the first quarter and held the lead throughout the day until the final minutes of regulation.
The Lady Bucks led 30-26 entering the fourth quarter, but were outscore 9-5 by the Spartans. Lowry got back on track in the extra period an allowed Spring Creek to make one field goal in four minutes. The Lady Bucks went on a 6-3 run in overtime to earn the win.
"It was a game that shouldn't have gone to overtime," Smith said. "We just couldn't get going."
Chelsea Herrera had a team-high 16 points before fouling out. Tiana Herrera scored six, Cooper and Hall five each, Mayo, Rolando and Waller had two apiece and Thiede one.
Lowry travels to Sparks on Friday for a 3 p.m. start and Truckee on Saturday for an 11 a.m. tip.[[In-content Ad]]
