LOVELOCK - Ever more dominant, the Pershing County High School girls basketball team (25-1, 10-0) ended its regular season last week with a pair of road wins, capturing the Lahontan League title as well as top billing at this week's 2A Northern Regional Tourney.
Today, Feb. 16, the Lady Mustangs open with a quarterfinal match-up against West Wendover at Reno's Wooster High School, beginning at 6 p.m. Earlier at Wooster, fourth-seeded Yerington and fifth-seeded North Tahoe tip off at 3 p.m.
Pershing County recorded a lop-sided victory at West Wendover on Jan. 7.
The other two quarterfinals will be played at Bishop Manogue High School. White Pine, the third seed, takes on Battle Mountain, the sixth seed, at 4:30 p.m., and second-seeded Incline tips off with seventh-seeded Silver Stage at 7:30 p.m.
The winners of those two tilts then meet Friday, Feb. 17, at 3 p.m., while the winners from Wooster clash at 6:20 p.m. Both semifinals are at Wooster.
Saturday's Championship is scheduled for noon, again at Wooster. Regardless of outcome, both teams qualify for the following weekend's state tourney, Feb. 24 - 25. On that Saturday, the girls and boys 1A/2A/3A Championship games will be played sequentially at Lawlor Events Center at the University of Nevada, starting with the girls 1A title game at 11 a.m. and concluding with the boys 2A title game at 7:45 p.m.
The girls 2A state title game is slated for 6 p.m.
Whittell failed to qualify for the postseason. Down south, Lincoln County and Needles, respectively, enter as that 2A regional tournament's top two seeds.
At Yerington on Feb. 7, the Lady Mustangs sped to a 20-6 lead after one quarter, then held the Lady Lions without a point in the second, eventually routing their hosts, 63-18.
Sarita Jo Condie remained on a scoring tear, hitting four of five 3-point attempts to finish with 30 points (11-for-16 from the field, 4-for-8 from the foul line). The junior point guard also notched five assists, five rebounds and five steals.
Senior off-guard Grace Moreira was the team's next highest scorer with nine, coming on three shots from beyond the arc.
As is the team's style, offensive production came from all areas of the court.
Claudia Dennler and Melissa Gonzales combined for 14 points. The senior and sophomore "bigs" also retrieved 16 rebounds (five offensive), had three steals and blocked three shots.
Junior small forward Leah Holland added seven boards.
Freshman guard Abby Bake had two points, the first of her varsity career, to go along with three assists and a steal.
Sophomore forward Tahlyah McFalls led the Lady Lions with nine points, while junior Leah Jim had a team-high eight rebounds.
At Dayton last Saturday, the Lady Mustangs churned the Lady Dust Devils, 85-45, their highest output of the season.
Condie had 20 points in the first half, and 24 in the game. Moreira added 22, including six treys.
Holland was 5-for-6 from the field for 10 points, while junior guard Sam Dennler combined seven points (3-for-4 from the foul line) with three assists, three boards and four steals.
"Leah (Holland) was really solid," noted head coach Steve Cerini. "She and Sam (Dennler) fit our defensive scheme so well, and then when they add that kind of offense, it's huge."
Gonzales dropped in seven points, pulled down eight rebounds and blocked two shots.
For the Lady Dust Devils, senior forward Taylor Hill had 15 points, including three 3-pointers, while junior point guard Maribel Ledezma chipped in with 11.
Moreira's season total of 86 treys now puts her in a tie with Italee Lucas (Centennial High School '06) for third place on Nevada's all-time list for most 3-pointers made in a season.
In other news, sophomore Maria Montes and freshman Mikayla Montes have been summoned after solid seasons at the JV level, and will join the varsity squad for the post-season.
[[In-content Ad]]The JV Lady Mustangs (16-7) put a wrap on their season by splitting two road tilts.
At Yerington on Feb. 7, Mikayla Montes hit four of five free throws in the final quarter to fend off the JV Lady Lions in a 33-31 win. The freshman point guard finished with eight points, as did sophomore forward Maria Montes, who knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter. Freshman center Lanayah Happy dropped in 10 points, all in the second half.
Last Saturday, the squad played a larger team at Dayton evenly until the waning moments of the first half, when it allowed the JV Lady Dust Devils to pull ahead, and eventually prevail, 39-26.
Maria Montes hit three treys in the first quarter, and posted a team-high 11 points. Junior forward Maddy Hertz added five.
The Montes duo has been promoted to varsity for the postseason.
