The Winnemucca Junior High School eighth-grade girls basketball team remained perfect on the season with three wins on its home floor this past Saturday.
Winnemucca opened with a 37-2 rout of Pershing County, outscoring the Colts 25-0 in the first half. The Warriors finished out the final 12 minutes with a 12-2 run. Ten different players scored for Winnemucca.
Madi McClellan led a scorers with eight points, Sydney Connors added five and Hailey Fernandez and Brooke Hansen had four points each. Victoria Tiradno, Julie Garcia, Julianne Montero, and Tatyana Carlson had two points apiece and Rebecca Kuskie contributed one point.
"We started with a different lineup this time, and they got after it," said WJHS coach DaraLee Millikan. Lily and Victoria were coming into the tournament after injuring their ankles this past week, but they played hard. The girls were patient and ran our offenses. They worked the ball inside and got some key rebounds as well. Madi had a good game."
The last time Winnemucca played Battle Mountain, the Shorthorns threatened to pull off the upset. The Warriors quickly made sure that did not happen again in the 50-24 victory. Winnemucca raced out to a 17-3 lead in the first quarter and outscored Battle Mountain 13-2 I the third period to claimed win.
Hannah Growcock paced the Warriors with nine points, Connors had seven, Kuskie, Fernandez and Garcia six each, Hansen four and Tirando and McClellan two points apiece.
"The girls were pumped," Millikan said. "Battle Mountain gave us a good challenge when we last met, so we were ready to step it up and take it to them. We started with the press, but backed off a few minutes into the second quarter. Becca had her best shooting game so far and Tatyana got a few steals. We shot 60 percent from the free throw line, which is our best this year. The girls always try to do what's asked of them, and they always have fun. I guess it fits the old adage "Work hard, play hard."
The eighth-graders took on McDermitt for the first time and came away with a 39-15. Once again, a strong first quarter paced the Warriors, outscoring
Rachel Garrison, Carlson, Connors and Growcock scored six points apiece to lead Winnemucca. Garcia added four, Fernandez three, Kuskie, Montero, Hansen and McClellan had two points each.
"I felt we really did a good job of choosing optimal outside shots in this game," Millikan said. "McDermitt packed in the defense, so that gave us opportunities. Rachel had some good looks and knocked them down. Hannah was consistent throughout the entire day - she played tough inside and runs the floor well when we press. The guards put pressure on the ball and were able to come away with a few buckets there as well. We were happy to be able to play Macy (Munroe) in all three games - we will need her next weekend when several of the girls will be gone."
Winnemucca travels to Fernley on Saturday for games with Fernley and Fallon, starting at 8:30 a.m. The Warriors travel to Fallon on Tuesday, beginning at 3:30 p.m.[[In-content Ad]]
