WINNEMUCCA - The Lowry High School varsity girls basketball team was looking to prove its three-point loss to Battle Mountain in January was just a fluke.
The Lady Bucks (7-14, 3-6 Division I-A, 2-5 Ruby Mountain) used a 15-2 run in the final quarter to pull out a 40-25 victory on Friday night in Winnemucca - holding the Lady Longhorns to 23 fewer points in the rematch.
"It was a good confidence booster for us," said LHS head coach Jack Smith. "It was a quick turnaround from the Elko game just two days earlier. These girls are resilient. They bounce back from losses and are ready to go the next day. Battle Mountain is a solid team this year."
With the game tied at 5-5 in the first quarter, Lowry notched the final seven points of the period with five of those by sophomore Shelby McKinnon. Carli Evatz started the run with a basket as well.
Abbie Mikelson, Battle Mountain's leading scorer, had four of the Longhorns' five points but added just two free throws the rest of the game as she struggled on the floor with a hip injury and was in and out of the game for most of the night.
"Abbie is a first-team player in our league," Smith said. "I thought Taylor (Schwartz) did a good job of defending her. Our backside help was much better and we didn't allow them easy shots and put-backs."
Hannah Hale and Brooklyn Quintana picked up the slack for Battle Mountain in the second quarter and a shot by Quintana tied the game at 17-17, when Alyssa Dendary put the Lady Bucks up at halftime and Lowry did not trail again.
Hale's bucket on the first possession of the second half tied the game at 19-19, only to see the Lady Bucks' Evatz, Kylee McClellan, Schwartz and Alyssa Jones hit shots to put Lowry up 27-19. Hale and Kelsey Kroll netted baskets at the end of the third period to close the gap to three points but Battle Mountain would get no closer.
McKinnon kicked off a 15-2 run in the fourth quarter for Lowry with a 3-point field goal as the Lady Bucks scored the first seven points of the period. The margin could have been larger, but Lowry was just 3-of-12 from the free throw line.
"It is a win that we needed and the girls were happy," said the coach. "They played a very physical Elko team and we just had a day to prepare after getting back late on Wednesday night. Plus, it was Winterfest week and there are always distractions."
No Lady Buckaroo reached double figures, with Dendary leading the way with nine points. McKinnon scored eight, Evatz seven, Jones, Schwartz and McClellan four each and Jaecee Munger and Payton Naveran two each.
Lowry closes out Division I-A play tonight at Spring Creek at 6 p.m. The Lady Bucks are looking to pull off an upset to improve its standing for the regional tournament.
"We are going in there with nothing to lose," Smith said. "If we have one of those special nights anything can happen."
As of now, Lowry is the No. 7 seed and will travel to Elko on Wednesday, Feb. 15, to play the Indians in the opening round of the regional tournament. The semifinals and finals will be played at Wooster High School in Reno on Friday, Feb. 15, and Saturday, Feb. 16. The top two teams advance to the state tournament in Las Vegas a week later.
The Lady Bucks close out the regular season on Friday at home versus White Pine at 6 p.m. and Saturday against West Wendover at 2 p.m.
[[In-content Ad]]
