MCDERMITT - The McDermitt High School girls basketball team left little drama in the outcome of its Division IV East openers at home this past weekend.
The Lady Bulldogs opened with a 53-37 victory over Wells on Friday, a squad that ended McDermitt's 2013 season in the semifinals of the regional playoffs.
It was just as easy Saturday afternoon, as McDermitt doubled up Jackpot 70-35 to improve to 6-3 overall and 2-0 in the Division IV East.
"There is not too much that I can complain about," said MHS head coach Jaimi Wilkinson. "The thing that separates this team from others in the past is that I can put all eight girls on the floor and know they can handle the pressure. They are all offensively minded. If I take one girl out, another is going to score."
Lydia Northrup got the scoring started for McDermitt against Jackpot with a pull-up 3-point field goal and Deandra Dave added eight points in the first quarter, helping the Lady Bulldogs to a 15-8 advantage. Andrea Smart contributed six points in the second quarter, with four those off steals and layups, giving McDermitt a 30-14 lead.
The Lady Bulldogs scored six of the first eight points of the third quarter off of buckets by Dave, Krissy Long and Northrup, when the Jaguars ended the run with a 3-point field goal.
A basket by Smart put McDermitt up 43-20 with three minutes left in the third quarter, but Jackpot stayed hot from the outside, hitting back-to-back 3-point field goals to cut the deficit down to 17 points at 43-26.
"I thought we handled the press well all day," Wilkinson said. "They pressed us right from the start. The girls spaced the floor well and moved the ball. We had a couple of turnovers from pushing it too hard, but that comes with the youth we have. I have to remind myself how young we are.
That was as close as Jackpot got, as McDermitt went on a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter to lead 64-31 and cruised from there. The Jaguars converted just two field goals in the final eight minutes of the game.
Northrup led all scorers with 21 points, while Smart added 14. Dave and Long scored 12 and 10 points, respectively. Dacy Horn scored six points, Megan Sam five and Va Draunidalo two.
"Lydia has done a very nice job of handling the ball for us this year," Wilkinson said. "She has improved a bunch from last year and is shooting the ball well. What I like, is that my girls inside are getting a lot of second and third chances. We are rebounding the ball well and getting points off of that. They have the right angle on the board and just doing everything right. We are playing better defensively. We are not quite there, but improving each time out."
McDermitt began the weekend with a 16-point win over Wells, gaining some revenge from the loss a season ago in the playoffs. The Lady Bulldogs held the Leopards to eight points in each of the first two quarters in garnering a 27-16 lead.
McDermitt increased the advantage to nearly 20 points in the second half and was never threatened by Wells.
Northrup and Long paced the Lady Bulldogs with 19 and 15 points, respectively. Dave also reached double figures with 11, Smart had five, Draunidalo two and Jackie Alcaraz one.
McDermitt will take its perfect league record on the road this weekend, starting Friday at 5:30 p.m. in Carlin. The Lady Bulldogs move on to Owyhee on Saturday for a 1 p.m. tip off.
"I will take being 2-0 with us starting all freshmen and sophomores," Wilkinson said. "I'm pretty proud of them.
"We have to be ready to go on the road and play. These girls are not used to overnight trips. We made one overnight trip earlier and struggled with that in Crane. It will be a long road trip. Owyhee is playing tough right now. We have to play within ourselves."[[In-content Ad]]
