It took a while for the Lowry High School girls basketball team to shake off the rust and get rid of its nerves, in its season-opener on Tuesday night against Pershing County in Winnemucca.
The Lady Bucks struggled on the offensive side of the ball in the first half, but rallied for a 53-32 win, outscoring the Mustangs 37-12 in the final 16 minutes.
“You have to give Lovelock credit, they came out and played hard,” said LHS coach Chelsea Cabatbat. “They are going to be fine in their league. “We just didn’t do a very good job of taking care of the ball in the first half. We were passing the ball twice and shooting it. We weren’t running the offense at all.”
The lead changed hands six different times in the first quarter, including at the buzzer when Pershing County’s Taryn Houston knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Lady Mustangs a 10-9 lead.
Pershing County made the opening basket of the contest, which was followed by a 3-pointer by Lowry’s Brooklyn Backus. The teams traded baskets from there.
Backus’ second 3-pointer of the first half gave the Lady Bucks a 14-10 advantage with 5:38 left in the first half. However, Lowry scored just two points the rest of the second quarter — a layup by Kenadee Jeppsen.
Pershing County scored the last eight points of the first half to go in front 20-16 at the break.
After scoring just two points in the first 16 minutes of play, Brooklyn Waller drained a 3-point field goal to start the third quarter, and the senior scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half.
Shelby Garrison connected on back-to-back baskets to give Lowry a 27-24 lead in the third quarter, and the Lady Bucks did not trail again. Garrison finished with 10 points, all in the second half.
“She was a big spark for us in the second half,” Cabatbat said. “I thought her and Kepa (Bengochea) got us going. Kepa came off the bench and got after it on defense and got some key steals. If you work hard and believe in our defense, the offense will come.”
Lowry pulled away on the strength of a 20-1 run that spanned the third and fourth quarters. The Lady Bucks’ largest lead of the night was at 53-29 after a 3-pointer by Waller.
The contest ended as Pershing County’s Faith Happy banked a 3-point shot at the buzzer.
Waller led the Lady Bucks with 12 points and Backus joined Garrison with 10 points. Tiana Herrera, Sydney Connors and Alyssa Kuskie each had five points.
Hannah Hillyer, Jeppsen and Bengochea had two points apiece.
Lowry is finishing up its stay today (Saturday) in the High Sierra Classic against Piedmont, Calif. The Lady Bucks took on Damonte Ranch and Spanish Springs on Thursday and Friday, respectively. Results were not available at press time.
Lowry will take on Churchill County on Tuesday in a rematch of the Northern 3A championship game, which the Lady Bucks won at the buzzer. Game time is 6 p.m. in Fallon.
“You have to get serious right away with a league game this early in the season,” Cabatbat said. “You do not want to start with a couple of losses in the Northern 3A in December. We have to be ready to play one of our toughest games of the season.”
