It wasn’t always pretty at times but the Lowry High School girls basketball team remained undefeated in the Northern 3A with two road wins this past weekend.
Lowry shook off a slow start in Sparks on Friday to win 61-23 and the Lady Bucks completed the weekend sweep on Saturday, knocking off Truckee 55-33.
Lowry started with a 4-0 lead against Sparks, only to make one field goal in the last 5:36 of the first quarter. Head coach Chelsea Cabatbat, not happy with the play, pulled all five starters midway through the opening quarter. They did not come back on to the floor until the start of the second quarter. The Railroaders held a 10-6 lead after eight minutes of play.
After scoring just six points in the first quarter, Lowry netted seven points in the first 40 seconds of the second quarter and did not look back. Kepa Bengochea got Lowry going with a basket. Even though she missed the free throw on the bucket, Kyllie Sappington was there to put the ball back in the bucket. The next time down the floor, Alyssa Kuskie knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Lady Bucks the lead for good.
Sappington continued the rally with an old-fashioned 3-point play and Lowry found its outside shot from there. Kuskie nailed two more shots from long distance and Sydney Connors added a 3-pointer to give the Lady Bucks a 31-17 lead at halftime.
The Lowry defense stepped up from there and held Sparks to one field goal in the second half. The Railroaders went 11 minutes without a basket in the second half.
Hailey Fernandez helped start a 24-0 run between the third and fourth quarters with three baskets from the field. Connors added her second 3-pointer of the night and Rachel Garrison made a pair of baskets, giving Lowry a 15-0 run to end the quarter and lead 48-20.
Heather Hall, Sierra Maestrejuan and Becca Kuskie got in the act to start the fourth quarter and finish the 24-0 spurt to lead 57-20. The contest was played with a running clock for the final four minutes.
Twelve of Lowry’s 13 players scored on the night, with Alyssa Kuskie leading the way with 14 points off four 3-pointers. Sappington and Maestrejuan added nine and seven points, respectively, and Connors and Fernandez each had six points.
Becca Kuskie, Hall and Rachel Garrison had four points apiece, Bengochea three and Shelby Garrison and Brooke Hansen had two points each.
Lowry knocks off Truckee
There was no slow start for Lowry on Saturday in Truckee, as Lowry scored the first eight points of the game and ran out to a 14-3 lead in the first quarter.
Alyssa Kuskie knocked down a 3-pointer on the opening possession of the contest and the Lady Bucks cruised from there. Lowry also picked up baskets from Bengochea, Connors and Sappington in the first quarter.
The Lady Bucks maintained their double-digit lead in the second quarter but the Wolverines answered back with consecutive 3-pointers to close the gap to 16-11.
Following a timeout by Lowry, the Lady Bucks quickly went on a 10-0 run, which was started by a 3-point play by Connors. Sappington, Alyssa Kuskie and Victoria Tirado added quick baskets to push the advantage back to 26-11. Lowry went into halftime with a 30-14 lead.
The rout looked to be on, as Connors opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer but Truckee had other ideas. The Wolverines refused to go away and countered with a 10-1 run to close the gap to 34-24 and forced Lowry to take another timeout.
Just as it was the case in the first half, the Lady Bucks responded after the break in action with a 10-0 run to close out the third quarter. Sappington, Alyssa Kuskie and Juli Garcia accounted for the 10 points, including five from Alyssa Kuskie.
Garcia added three more buckets in the fourth quarter, as Lowry led by as many as 26 points
Lowry (4-0 Northern 3A, 7-1 overall) makes its way to Boise, Idaho, this weekend for the TimberLion Invitational. Lowry opens with Centennial on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Borah High School. The Patriots are ranked No. 7 in the Idaho 5A standings.
The Lady Bucks face Borah on Friday at 7:45 p.m. The Lions are No. 5 in the Idaho 5A rankings.
Lowry finishes the weekend against Meridian on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Meridian is No. 11 in the 5A rankings.
