WINNEMUCCA - The Lowry High School junior varsity girls basketball team picked up two wins in three games during a recent five-day stretch.
The Lady Bucks (12-7 overall, 4-4 Ruby Mountain League) hosted Battle Mountain on Friday, Feb. 3, and came away with a 34-24 win. Lowry was on the road the following day in Lovelock to face Pershing County and the Lady Bucks left town with 45-32 win. Lowry was back home Tuesday to host Elko as part of Winterfest week and at one time closed the gap to two points in the second half but was defeated 42-29.
"I thought we came out in the third quarter firing and got within two points," said LHS head coach Chelsea Mendiola of the Elko game. "You have to give Elko some credit. They hit some shots, especially early in the game. We just got tired at the end. When you play with eight girls they are going to get tired. We played hard and were getting after the ball. I can't fault my girls for the way they played. You can only play for so long before you can get tired."
Behind the streak of hot shooting, Elko scored the first eight points of the game. Shelby McKinnon hit a short jump shot with 5:44 left in the first quarter to give Lowry its first points. Alyssa Jones and McKinnon added baskets to bring the Lady Bucks within four points at 10-6, but the Indians closed the period on a 7-2 run - including the final points after Jones had cut the deficit to 12-8 by making two free throws.
Jones converted a 3-point play to start the second period and McKinnon nailed a baseline jump shot to keep the gap at six points, but Lowry could not cut the lead any further until the second half. Trailing by six points to start the second half, Rachel Sigurdson scored the first four points of the third quarter to bring Lowry within two points at 23-21, but Elko answered the next time down the floor with a bucket. Jones followed with a coast-to-coast layup to bring the Lady Bucks within two points at 25-23, but that was as close as Lowry got the rest of the night.
Elko reeled off the last four points of the third quarter and the first five of the fourth to increase the gap to 11 points at 34-23. Lowry closed with seven points at 34-27 after two free throws by Jones and a jump shot by McKinnon, but Elko quickly pulled away with eight consecutive points to put the game out of reach.
"Elko is a great team and my girls did everything we asked of them," Mendiola said. "We put a lot of planning into this game and we executed the best we can and it just did not come out in our favor today. I am very proud of how they played and I think there are good things to come for these girls."
Jones led all scorers with 11 points. McKinnon added eight, Sigurdson six and Chandra Waner and Jaecee Munger two each.
Lowry picked up its second win of the season over Pershing County on Saturday afternoon on the strength of a 13-2 run to start the game. Jones had two 3-point field goals in the first period and Meg Montero, Sigurdson and McKinnon each converted baskets.
The Mustangs were able to trim the deficit to five points at halftime on the strength of two 3-point field goals of their own. Waner, McKinnon and Sigurdson had baskets to keep the Lady Bucks out in front at 19-14.
Lowry held the same five-point advantage going into the fourth quarter, when it outscored Pershing County 14-6 to earn the win. Jones was 4-of-6 from the foul line in the fourth period, with Munger also hitting two free throws and McKinnon two shots to put the game away.
"It was a very big win for us over a good team," Mendiola added. "They had a big crowd there and the girls executed everything we asked them to do. There were times where could have fell apart, but we kept plugging along and were able to build the lead back up."
Jones and McKinnon led Lowry with 18 and 10 points, respectively. Sigurdson added six, Waner and Montero four apiece, Munger two and Jasmin Landa one.
Lowry started off quickly with a 12-0 run to start the game against Battle Mountain, with five different players scoring during the opening eight minutes of the game. The Lady Longhorns came back to score the first six points of the second quarter after going scoreless in the first period.
The Lady Bucks countered that run by making the final seven points of the half, with baskets by Sigurdson, Montero and Munger. Lowry used a 10-0 run in the third quarter to build a 30-11 advantage and was not challenged again by Battle Mountain.
Six different players scored for the Lady Bucks, with McKinnon leading the way with nine. Montero picked up seven, Sigurdson and Munger six each, Jones four and Waner two.
Lowry concludes its season tonight and Saturday hosting White Pine today at 3 p.m. and West Wendover Saturday at 11 a.m. The Lady Bucks will look to avenge a loss to White Pine earlier in the year.
"We are looking to get back at White Pine and get a win," Mendiola said. "We are going to game plan for the two days before the game and look to end the season on a high note."
[[In-content Ad]]
