Despite some early-season injuries, the Battle Mountain High School girls basketball team is off to a good start after winning three of five games at the Serpent Classic this past weekend in Hawthorne.
The Lady Longhorns split a pair of games on Thursday, Nov. 30. Battle Mountain beat host Mineral County 62-36 and lost 47-38 to White Pine.
Against Mineral County, Battle Mountain jumped out to a 39-17 lead and never looked back. Paige Ripley scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Lady Longhorns.
Grace Melver reached double figures with 11 points to go with four steals. Marissa Rogers had eight points and seven rebounds.
In the second game on Thursday, Battle Mountain dropped a close contest to league-rival White Pine. Both teams figure to fight for a top playoff spot in the Northern 2A.
Sruti Bhakta led Battle Mountain with 14 points and eight assists. Melver netted nine points and Isabella DeAllah had eight points.
Battle Mountain also split a pair of games on Friday. The Lady Longhorns dropped a 44-40 decision to Hug of the Northern 4A. Melver was the only Battle Mountain player in double figures with 10 points.
DeAllah had nine points and four steals and Bhakta added six points and five assists. Rogers finished with six points and five rebounds.
Battle Mountain bounced back in a big way later on Friday with a 26-14 win over Virginia City of the Western 1A. The Lady Longhorns dominated from the start and were never challenged.
Brooke Ripley nearly outscored Virginia City by herself with 12 points. Mary Wolters added 11 points and Alexa Goddard seven.
Battle Mountain closed out the tournament on Saturday with a 49-23 win over Smith Valley, also of the Western 1A.
Melver led Battle Mountain with 14 points. Bhakta scored 13 points and dished out eight assists. DeAllah finished with eight points and six steals.
“It was a very good weekend for the Lady Longhorns,” said BMHS head coach Paul Tremayne. “It was good to get into a game situation. We started executing on offense much better at the end of the weekend. The two games we lost we competed very well. Both Hug and White Pine are very big. I thought the girls did a great job. It should be an exciting year.”
Battle Mountain travels to Virginia City this weekend for the Comstock Classic.
The Lady Longhorns will play Pahranagat Valley, McDermitt, Round Mountain and Wells.
Battle Mountain will be on its home floor on Dec. 15 and Dec. 16 to begin Northern 2A play against North Tahoe and Incline.
