Going into Saturday's match-up in Fallon against Churchill County, the Lowry High School girls basketball team appeared to be at a disadvantage from the start.
The Lady Bucks were without Alyssa Dendary, who dislocated her kneecap in a game against Fernley on Thursday. In addition, Taylor Schwartz saw minimal time Saturday due to illness.
Lowry quickly found itself down 7-0 in the first quarter and the Lady Bucks trailed by six in the fourth quarter, before scoring the final 14 points of the contest to win 44-36. The Lady Bucks clinched a playoff berth and extended their winning streak to seven.
"We just started off slow and weren't ready for the press they put on us," said LHS coach Chelsea Cabatbat. "We called timeout and regrouped and got going. It was a great win for us and I was proud of how we came back. This group plays hard and they are starting to understand what we want to do."
Juniors Shelby McKinnon and Kylee McClellan stepped up for the Buckaroos and scored 13 and 12 points, respectively. Fellow junior Jasmine Marchand added six points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
"Shelby and Kylee played great," Cabatbat said. "They got us going offensively and defensively. Jasmine did a good job on the boards and is a physical presence for us."
Lowry closed the gap to 11-6 at the end of the first quarter, only to see Churchill County score the first nine points of the second quarter to extend the gap to 20-6. That turned out to be all the scoring for the Greenwave as the Lady Bucks finished off the first half with the final 12 points to cut the Churchill County lead to 20-18.
The two schools traded baskets for much of the third quarter, with Lowry scoring the final three points to tie the game at 30. Churchill County came out in the fourth quarter and scored six consecutive points to widen the margin to six points.
However, just as it was the case to end the first half, the Lady Bucks stepped up their defense and scored the final 14 points of the game. The last eight points came off of free throws, as Lowry avenged an earlier loss to Churchill County.
"We could have easily thrown in the towel when things got bad," Cabatbat said. "We had different players come through when we needed it. This group is not going to quit when things get bad."
Jillian Albright added eight points, Schwartz two and Alyssa Jones one. Payton Naveran did not score but the sophomore had 10 rebounds and a team-high six assists.
Lowry (15-9 overall, 11-3 Division I-A North) traveled to Fernley on Thursday and beat the Vaqueros 46-37. The Lady Bucks jumped out to a 24-12 halftime lead and were able to hold the advantage in the second half. Fernley entered the game with just two league wins but battled Lowry to the end.
"It wasn't a meaningless game," Cabatbat said. "We had to work hard for the win. Fernley is a lot better team to have only two wins."
Naveran scored 11 points to go with eight rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Schwartz and Albright each scored nine, Dendary seven, McClellan five, Marchand three and Jones two.
Cabatbat noted Dendary is scheduled for another MRI this week on her knee and is likely out for the final two regular season games. The hope is to have her back for the playoffs.
"It looked bad when she injured her knee, I was thinking the worst," Cabatbat said. "She was walking on it pretty good on Friday and I was surprised to see that. Hopefully, we get good news from the doctor."
Lowry celebrates Winterfest this week and hosts Spring Creek on Friday at 6 p.m. and Elko Saturday at 2 p.m. to close out the regular season.
The Lady Bucks can finish anywhere from first to fourth in the Division I-A North. Lowry can win the league if Spring Creek beats Elko and Lowry sweeps Spring Creek and Elko. If Lowry loses its final two games and Churchill County beats Sparks and South Tahoe, the Greenwave is the third seed and Lowry will be the fourth seed for the regional tournament in Elko.
"This is a huge weekend for us," Cabatbat said. "It is Winterfest and I want the girls to enjoy it. But we have work to do. There is a chance that if everything goes right we can get the No. 1 seed. Not many people thought we would be in the position we are now. There is no quit in these girls."[[In-content Ad]]
