SPRING CREEK - The Spring Creek girls basketball team did not end the first half of the league season on the note it was hoping for.
Lowry High School took down the Lady Spartans 44-42 Tuesday in Spring Creek in a back-and-forth affair that came down to the final moments. It was the first win for the Lady Bucks over the Spartans since the 2010 state championship game in Reno.
"It was an amazing win for us," Lowry coach Chelsea Cabatbat said. "Spring Creek has been at the top for many years but we played our game and got a win."
Shawntel Andersen led all scorers with 15 points and Lowry's Kylee McClellan paced her squad with 13.
The Lady Spartans were in it for the whole game but were doomed by 29 turnovers.
"Lowry was the better team tonight. No excuses on our part," Spring Creek coach Holly Miller said. "We need to take care of the ball."
The game stayed tight throughout the first half, with neither team taking a lead larger than five points. Spring Creek's Maddy Merschel opened the scoring to kick off an explosive first quarter that saw the junior forward score eight points.
The two teams traded buckets and the first quarter ended with Spring Creek up 10-8. Lowry got a jump on things first in the second frame.
The Buckaroos used a full-court press to force turnovers and pull ahead in the second quarter, leading by as many as five points before settling for a 19-16 halftime lead.
Things started going better for the Lady Spartans in the third quarter, as Andersen and Allyson Miller combined for 10 points and Spring Creek entered the last frame with a 30-28 lead.
Lowry (9-9 overall, 5-3 Division I-A North) gained second chance after second chance with lots of offensive rebounds but the Buckaroos frequently were unable to capitalize, punctuated by a third-quarter sequence with five offensive rebounds on the same possession leading to two missed free throws and zero points.
The Lady Spartans continued their momentum into the fourth quarter, racing out to a game-high six-point lead on the back of six quick points from Andersen.
A series of turnovers helped Lowry back into the contest, and the Buckaroos went on a 6-0 run to tie the game at 40-40 with 2:45 to play.
From that point, it was Lowry that took control, carrying a 43-41 lead into the game's final 30 seconds. However, two missed free throws after an intentional foul gave the Lady Spartans the ball back with 25 seconds to play.
A foul sent Allyson Miller to the charity stripe for two shots, but she only hit the second to leave Spring Creek needing to foul down 43-42 with 23 seconds remaining.
One made Lowry free throw left Spring Creek down two, but the Lady Spartans turned it over in transition to give the ball right back.
Two more missed free throws from Lowry gave Spring Creek the ball back with 11 seconds, but Merschel's jumper at the buzzer did not fall and Lowry hung on.
Spring Creek was haunted by the absence of starters Thompson and Abby Estes, the latter of whom exited in the second quarter after sustaining a leg injury.
"It hurt not having Serima and Abby," Coach Miller said. "We're going to need a lot of stepping up."
Lowry hosts Dayton tonight at 6 p.m. and South Tahoe Saturday at 2 p.m.[[In-content Ad]]
