WINNEMUCCA - The Lowry High School freshmen girls basketball team could not of had two different games on Saturday in Winnemucca.
Playing in the new gym at the high school, the Lady Bucks nearly posted a shutout of Fernley, winning 44-4.
Lowry found it tougher going later in the afternoon, escaping with a 38-31 victory over Spring Creek in a game that featured 69 free throws.
"Fernley was not the team we played earlier in the year," said LHS head coach Clay Sagers. "They had three girls that moved up to the JV team and another that had surgery and was out. It was good to get a win over Spring Creek after losing to them every time last year. It was a rough game but you get accustomed to that when we play."
It was not a question of if, but by how much Lowry would beat Fernley. The Lady Bucks' pressure defense caused havoc on the Vaquero offense as Fernley often could not get the ball across half court in the first half.
Caitlynn Cooper and Emalee Brown scored eight and four points, respectively, in the first quarter. Kelsea Perkinson, Maria Hernandez, Maggie Tyree and Shandra Smith each had one basket in the opening period to help Lowry build a 20-0 advantage
The Lady Bucks (9-8 overall, 4-1 Division I-A, 1-0 Ruby Mountain) took the press off in the second quarter, but continued to add to the lead. Lowry had 30 points on the scoreboard, when Fernley scored its first points with three minutes left in the first half.
Celeste Esquivel, who returned from injury, netted eight points in the second period, while Megan Villarreal added six and Shauna Smith four to give the Lady Bucks a 41-2 lead at halftime.
The game went into a running clock 30 seconds into the second half after a bucket by Shauna Smith and a free throw by Cooper. Those were the only points for Lowry in the second half. Fernley made one more basket in the third quarter, with the game going scoreless in the final eight minutes of play.
"We went out and tried to work on things," Sagers said. "Unless we had a wide open layup, I wanted the girls to work on the offense."
Ten players scored for Lowry, with Cooper and Esquivel leading the way with nine and eight points, respectively. Shauna Smith and Villarreal added six points apiece, Brown four, Hernandez three and Shandra Smith, Ana Gonzalez, Perkinson and Tyree had two points each.
If you didn't know any better, you would think a football game broke out in the final game of the afternoon as Lowry took on Spring Creek.
The teams combined for 41 fouls - Lowry (23), Spring Creek (18), while shooting 69 free throws. Both teams did not help themselves out from the charity stripe. The Lady Bucks were 12-of-35, while the Lady Spartans were 12-of-34.
"The game was a little closer than I would have liked it to have been," Sagers said. "I am glad we were able to hold on. We fouled way too much and need to learn to stop reaching and get in better position."
Lowry outscored Spring Creek by a point in the first quarter and was able to slowly pull away as the contest continued on. The Lady Bucks led by double figures in the third quarter, only to see the Lady Spartans cut the margin to three points at one time in the fourth period.
Lowry rallied late in the fourth quarter and used a bucket by Hailey Rolando to seal the victory.
Cooper led all scorers with 22 points, while Perkinson contributed seven. Brown scored four points, Banesa Trigueros three and Rolando two.
Lowry and Spring Creek get back together tonight as the Buckaroos travel to Spring Creek for a 4 p.m. tipoff. Lowry travels to Elko on Saturday to face the Indians at 10:30 a.m. and Spring Creek at noon.
Saturday, Jan. 19
(At Winnemucca)
Lowry 44, Fernley 4
Fernley 0 2 2 0 - 4
Lowry 20 21 3 0 - 44
LOWRY (44) (8-8, 4-1, 1-0)
Celeste Esquivel 4 0-0 8; Emalee Brown 2 0-2 4; Caitlynn Cooper 4 1-4 9; Kelsea Perkinson 1 0-0 2; Shauna Smith 3 0-0 6; Megan Villarreal 3 0-1 6; Maria Hernandez 1 1-2 3; Ana Gonzalez 1 0-0 2; Maggie Tyree 1 0-0 2; Shandra Smith 1 0-0 2. Totals: 21 2-9 44. 3-point field goals: none. Fouls: 4.
Lowry 38, Spring Creek 31
S. Creek 9 7 9 6 - 31
Lowry 10 9 12 7 - 38
LOWRY (31) (9-8, 4-1, 1-0)
Celeste Esquivel 0 0-3 0; Emalee Brown 2 0-0 4; Caitlynn Cooper 8 6-19 22; Banesa Trigueros 1 1-2 3; Kelsea Perkinson 1 5-6 7; Shauna Smith 0 0-1 0; Megan Villarreal 0 0-2 0; Maggie Tyree 0 0-2 0; Hailey Rolando 1 0-0 2. Totals: 13 12-35 38. 3-point field goals: none. Fouls: 23.
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