WINNEMUCCA - Close games have been few and far between for the Lowry High School junior varsity girls basketball team in the early part of the season.
That was no different this past weekend as the Lady Bucks returned to their home floor for a pair of Division I-A North games. Lowry had little trouble on Friday, beating Sparks 47-8, while pulling away late on Saturday afternoon to defeat Truckee 46-28. The Lady Bucks improved to 4-0 in league play and 9-0 overall.
"We struggled a little bit with Truckee," said LHS head coach Shelly Smith. "We didn't do a very good job of getting back on defense in the first half. We were doing a lot of reaching and not moving our legs. We missed a lot of easy shots. I went with a bit of different lineup to get some different girls on the floor. I wasn't sure what we would get out of Truckee."
The Lowry defense stepped up its play on Friday, as Sparks found it tough going getting on the scoreboard. The Railroaders made just one field goal in each of the first two quarters and were held scoreless in the third quarter.
Sparks was as close at 3-2 in the opening eight minutes of play, only to see Lowry score the final eight points of the quarter to lead 11-2.
The Railroaders ended a scoreless streak of nearly nine minutes with a bucket with 3:44 left in the first half to cut the Lady Bucks' lead to 13-4. Lowry picked up buckets from Chelsea Herrera and Tiana Herrera at the end of the quarter to take a 17-4 lead at halftime.
Lowry broke the game open with an 18-0 run in the third quarter, with Chelsea Herrera and Hayley Hall combining for the first 10 points. Brooklyn Waller added a pair of short jump shots, with Celeste Esquivel sinking a bucket in between to give the Lady Bucks a 35-4 lead.
Sparks put a stop to Lowry's 23-0 run with one free throw at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Lady Bucks continued to pull away with a 12-4 spurt in the final eight minutes.
"We went out there and played well," Smith said. "This team goes out and works hard. They do everything I ask of them. It was chance for the girls to work on some things."
Eleven players scored for Lowry, with Chelsea Herrera and Waller each scoring eight. Tiana Herrera, Emalee Brown and Hall had six points apiece, Maria Hernandez four, Caitlynn Cooper, Haley Rolando, Kelsea Perkinson and Esquivel two each and Maddie Mayo one.
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Lowry found themselves in a battle on Saturday afternoon, as Truckee kept the game close until the end of the first half.
Rolando gave the Lady Bucks an early 4-0 cushion with a pair of buckets, but Lowry found it tough going on offense the rest of the first quarter. The Wolverines came back with five consecutive points to lead by a point and the two schools traded baskets the rest of the period, with Hall giving the Lady Bucks an 8-7 lead at the end of the quarter.
Lowry took the lead for good three minutes into the second quarter on a pair of free throws by Cooper. Waller took over for the Lady Bucks from there, as the freshman hit four consecutive shots, including a 3-point field goal to give Lowry a 20-12 lead. Waller finished the day with a team-high
19 points.
"That is what can happen if we get our offense going," added the coach. "If we reverse the ball quickly, Brooklyn is going to get those open shots. She got hot and got us going. I am happy with the way she is playing."
Truckee did not go away and closed the gap to five points, 26-21 in the third quarter, only to see Sierra Thiede knock down two shots to push the margin back to nine points.
The Wolverines did not get any closer, as Hall and Waller combined for nine points in the fourth quarter and the Lady Bucks closed the game on a 16-7 run.
"It was a good win for us," Smith said. "We haven't been in many games to where we have been tested."
Hall joined Waller in double figures with 10 points, while Rolando and Thiede each scored four. Tiana Herrera, Mayo, Cooper and Esquivel had two points apiece and Chelsea Herrera one.
Lowry's closes out a four-game home stand this weekend, hosting Fernley on Friday at 3 p.m. and Churchill County on Saturday at 11 a.m.[[In-content Ad]]
