WINNEMUCCA - Maybe it was the fan-shaped backboards or the long trip to Winnemucca, but the Lowry High School junior varsity girls basketball team made Damonte Ranch's trip to Winnemucca a miserable one on Saturday.
The Lady Bucks held the Mustangs scoreless for the first 13 minutes of the game on their way to a 28-20 victory to improve to 2-0 on the season. In addition, it was the home opener for Lowry.
"We came and did great things on defense," said LHS head coach Shelly Smith. "The girls are playing good as a team and I can't say enough good things about them. We got things to work on. We are still missing a lot of shots and we had trouble with our free throw shooting."
The Lady Bucks picked up buckets by Chelsea Herrera, Brooklyn Waller and Tiana Herrera to take a 6-0 advantage after a quarter of play. The margin could have been more but four missed free throws in the first quarter hampered the Lady Bucks.
Waller and Hayley Hall hit back-to-back jump shots in the first two minutes of the second quarter to extend the lead to 10-0. Two minutes later, Chelsea Herrera picked up her second basket of the day.
Damonte Ranch scored its first points of the game on a layup with 2:47 left in the first half. Lowry eventually led 14-4 at halftime.
After Damonte Ranch scored the first two points of the second half on a pair of free throws, Lowry went on a 6-0 run to take its biggest lead of the game. Sierra Thiede began the spurt with a put back shot, Caitlynn Cooper added a layup and a fast break followed where Cooper dished off a pass to Hall for a 20-6 lead.
Damonte Ranch struggled offensively for much of the game, scoring just six points through the first 21 minutes of the game. However, the Mustangs scored the final five points of the third quarter and the first basket of the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 20-13.
"We knew we had a second game to play right after this one," Smith said. "I wanted to get all the girls some playing time. Once it got down to seven points the girls picked it back up. I am happy with what we are doing."
That was as close as Damonte Ranch got as Lowry went on an 8-2 run to push the advantage back to 13 points, at 28-15. Hall started the run with a jump shot, Chelsea Herrera added a pair of baskets and Waller finished off the Mustangs with a bucket with two minutes to play. The Mustangs collected the final five points to account for the eight-point margin.
Waller and Chelsea Herrera each scored 10 points to lead Lowry, Cooper and Hall added four each and Tiana Herrera and Thiede had two points each.
Lowry opens Division I-A North play this weekend on the road. The Lady Bucks travel to South Tahoe on Friday for a 3 p.m. tip-off and play at Dayton on Saturday at 11 a.m.
"It is one of our longest road trips of the season," Smith said. "We just have to have a good week of practice and get ready for South Tahoe and Dayton."[[In-content Ad]]
