RENO — The Lowry High School girls basketball team didn’t have much time to celebrate Christmas at home, playing in the Varsity Elite Tournament in Reno this week.
The Lady Bucks won the first three games they played in the tourney, but came up short in the championship game on Wednesday night. Lowry lost 51-40 to Reed at McQueen High School. The Lady Bucks led 21-13 at halftime, but turnovers and missed shots led to a Raiders’ comeback.
“This was a game that was really good for us,” said LHS coach Chelsea Cabatbat said. “Reed is one of the top teams in the Northern 4A. They showed what we still need to work at. I thought it was a good tournament for us.”
A night after making 12 3-point field goals against San Leandro, Lowry was cold from the outside against Reed. The Lady Bucks connected on just one shot from long distance in the first half, and that was by Brooklyn Waller with 59 seconds to go in the second quarter.
A 3-point shot by Reed gave the Sparks school its only lead of the first half at 3-2, as Tiana Herrera and Sydney Connors came back with back-to-back baskets to put Lowry in front by three points. The Raiders came back to tie the contest at 8-8, but the Lady Bucks scored the final six points of the opening quarter on baskets by Brooklyn Backus, Herrera and two free throws by Hannah Hillyer.
Both offenses struggled in the second quarter, as Lowry went nearly five minutes without a basket. Reed was in the same boat, as the basket was tough to find at times. The Raiders went scoreless for the final two minutes of the first half.
Leading 16-13, Waller provided Lowry with the lone 3-pointer and Herrera hit a bucket to push the advantage to 21-13 at the break.
As Kenadee Jeppsen picked up her third foul in the first minute of the third quarter, Reed quickly cut the deficit to 22-20 with 5:16 to go, as Lowry called a timeout.
After the break in play, Backus scored off the inbound play, but Reed quickly followed with five consecutive points to go in front 25-24 and lead for the first time since early in the first quarter. Moments later, Waller hit her second 3-pointer to put Lowry back up 27-25.
The Lady Bucks took their last lead at 31-29 on a putback shot by Hillyer, but the Raiders answered back with five straight points, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer to go in front 34-31 at the end of the third quarter.
Reed pushed the advantage to five points on the opening possession of the fourth quarter, when Sydney Connors connected on a 3-pointer to cut the gap to 36-34. That was as close as Lowry got, as Reed went on an 8-1 run to push the margin to nine points at 44-35.
“We have worked on our press break all year and had trouble running it in the second half,” Cabatbat said. “We need to take care of the ball better. It was one of those nights where our shooting was off.”
Lowry crushes Hug
Lowry opened the Varsity Elite Tournament on Monday with a 53-17 win over Hug of the Northern 4A. In the first few games of the season, the Lady Bucks have started slowly. This was not the case against the Reno school, as Lowry opened the contest on a 26-5 run in the first quarter and never looked back.
For good measure, the Lady Bucks outscored the Hawks 18-2 in the third quarter to hold a 50-10 advantage. Kepa Bengochea and Connors led Lowry with 10 points apiece. Waller added eight points, Kuskie had six, Backus five, Herrera four, Shelby Garrison three and Amaya Herrera, Hailey Hinkle and Aimee Brandon two apiece.
Lady Bucks get past Pirates
In its second game on Monday, Lowry pulled away in the final three quarters to beat Pittsburg, Calif., 64-44. The game was tied at 12 after eight minutes of play, when the Lady Bucks outscored the Pirates 17-9 in the second quarter and never looked back.
The Lowry advantage was still in single digits at the start of the fourth quarter, but outscored Pittsburg 21-10 in the final eight minutes to win by 20 points.
Kuskie had a season-high 20 points on four 3-pointers. Waller added 16 points, Connors nine, Tiana Herrera six, Garrison and Backus four each, Bengochea two and Hillyer one.
Lowry shoots past San Leandro
In the semifinals of the Gold Bracket on Thursday night, Lowry connected on 12-of-25 3-point shots to blitz San Leandro, Calif., 57-27. The Lady Bucks only had 22 shots from 3-point range.
The Lady Bucks doubled up the Pirates 16-8 in the first quarter and built on the advantage the rest of the way. Lowry built a 34-15 lead at halftime.
Kuskie made half of the 3-point field goals for Lowry and finished with 20 points. Connors connected on four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points. Backus had five points, Tiana Herrera and Bengochea four each, Waller three, Garrison and Jeppsen two each and Amaya Herrera one
Lowry (2-1 Northern 3A, 10-2 overall) is back on the road Tuesday to take on Elko at 6 p.m. in a crucial Northern 3A match-up.
Elko enters the contest 2-0 in league play with home wins over Truckee and Sparks.
Churchill County, who went 16-0 in the Northern 3A last year is atop the standings at 4-0.
Lowry and Spring Creek are both 2-1 in league play, with the Lady Bucks holding the tiebreaker over the Spartans.
The top six teams advance to the Northern 3A Regional Championship at the Winmnemucca Event Center in February. The top two teams get first-round byes.
“The Reed game was great for us,” Cabatbat said. “Elko is going to play us the same way. It is a big game for us. I can’t wait for us to have a few home games.”
