WINNEMUCCA - With underclassmen dotting the roster for the Lowry High School varsity girls basketball team, there are going to be days of highs and lows.
The Lady Bucks (2-5) experienced that last weekend at the High Sierra Classic in Reno. Lowry met up with Damonte Ranch on Thursday, Dec. 6, for the second time in two weeks with the Mustangs winning 58-42. The Lady Bucks returned to the floor on Friday, Dec. 7, and lost 49-44 to Buhach Colony (Atwater, Calif.), but bounced back on Saturday to beat Summerville (Tuolumne, Calif.) 49-27.
"We are going through some growing pains right now," said LHS head coach Jack Smith. "When we shoot a decent percentage from the field and when we don't, we are not the same team. We were able to put four full quarters together against Summerville and it showed."
Carli Evatz and Taylor Schwartz combined for nine points in the first quarter against Damonte Ranch, helping the Lady Bucks take an 11-9 lead.
However, it was all Mustangs after that, with Damonte Ranch outscoring Lowry 42-17 in the second and third quarters to open a 23-point advantage.
"We got rattled a bit in the second and third quarters and let Damonte Ranch's press get to us," Smith said. "Damonte got fired up after the first quarter. They are probably a playoff team in Division I."
Schwartz and Evatz paced Lowry with 10 and nine points, respectively. Kylee McClellan added seven points, Jaecee Munger five, Payton Naveran four and Shelby McKinnon, Alyssa Jones and Rachel Sigurdson had two points apiece.
In the matchup with Buhach Colony, Lowry trailed by two points after the first eight minutes of play when the Lady Bucks' Alyssa Dendary caught fire from the field in the second quarter.
The sophomore scored nine of her team-high 11 points in the period, including two 3-point field goals in helping Lowry take a 27-22 lead at halftime.
Evatz also hit a 3-point field goal and McKinnon and Schwartz each hit buckets as part of the 17-point quarter.
The Thunder turned the tables on the Lady Bucks in the third quarter with a 17-9 spurt to take a three-point lead. Schwartz, Evatz and McClellan combined for all nine Lowry points.
From there the game was back and forth, but Buhach Colony was able to hold on for the win.
"Buhach Colony was a physical team and we had not played a team like that this year," added the coach. "We had ample times to go in front and had chances to win the game. We missed a lot of easy shots and have to find a way to finish and close out games. I think we learned a lot from the game."
Schwartz and Evatz joined Dendary in double figures with 10 points apiece. McKinnon scored nine, Jones and McClellan two each and Naveran one.
After suffering two losses to start the tournament, Lowry took its frustrations out on Summerville out of Atwater, Calif.
Evatz nearly equaled the total of Bears as she scored a season-high 20 points, which included two 3-point field goals and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
Dendary added five points in the first quarter as the Lady Bucks raced to a 15-8 advantage and did not relinquish the lead the rest of the way.
Lowry led by as many as 27 points in the second half as Summerville made just four field goals in the final 16 minutes of action.
Naveran contributed six points for the Lady Bucks, Schwartz and Dendary each had five, Sigurdson and McClellan four apiece and Meg Montero two.
"We were able to hit some shots," Smith said. "Summerville went into a zone defense and we made our outside shots. Our press caused a lot of problems and we were able to feed off of that."
Lowry traveled to North Valleys on Wednesday and results were not available at press time. The Lady Bucks are back on the road today to face Sparks at 6 p.m. in the Division I-A opener for the Lady Bucks. The road trip continues on Saturday, when Lowry faces Truckee at 2 p.m.
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