The Lowry High School girls basketball team experienced something new this Christmas break.
For a number years, the Lady Bucks have spent the holiday playing a tournament in Reno. That changed last week, as Lowry made its way up to Boise, Idaho for the TimberLion Invitational.
The Lady Bucks took a 7-1 record in the tournament, where they faced three 5A schools from the Boise area. Lowry dropped all three games over the three days but were in each contest to the end.
Lowry opened with Centennial on Thursday, Dec. 21, and lost 48-41. The Patriots opened with a 16-12 lead in the first quarter and slowly pulled away from there. The Lady Bucks’ offense struggled throughout the two middle quarters, scoring just 14 points.
Centennial led 28-19 at halftime and increased the advantage to 39-26 at the end of the third quarter. Lowry rallied in the final eight minutes and cut the deficit to as little as five points but could not complete the comeback.
The Lady Bucks made more 3-point field goals (eight) than 2-point shots (seven) that night. Lowry shot 62 percent from behind the arc but was just 7-of-30 from the field, insider the 3-point line.
Behind six 3-pointers, Alyssa Kuskie led Lowry with 20 points. Sydney Connors made the other two 3-point shots and finished with eight points. The junior added six rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Kyllie Sappington scored four points to go with eight rebounds, two assists and a steal. Shelby Garrison, Heather Hall, Kepa Bengochea and Sierra Maestrejuan each had two points and Julisa Garcia had one point.
Centennial is 11-2 on the year and ranked No. 16 in Idaho and No. 7 in the 5A rankings by MaxPreps.
Lowry falls to Borah
It did not get any easier for Lowry on Friday, Dec. 22, against Borah. The Lions (8-2) are the No. 9 ranked school in Idaho and No. 4 in the 5A.
Borah jumped out to a five-point lead in the opening quarter at 12-7 but Lowry slowly cut into the deficit as halftime neared. The Lions held a slim 20-18 advantage at halftime.
The Lady Bucks were within striking distance at the start of the fourth quarter, however, they scored just three points in the final eight minutes and the Lions pulled away for the eight-point win.
As hot as the 3-point shooting was the night before, it was just the opposite in the loss to Borah. Lowry was 1-of-13 from behind the line, with Kuskie making the only basket. As a team Lowry shot just 32 percent from the field (9-for-28). The Lady Bucks spent much of the night at the free throw line, going 15-of-21 from the charity stripe.
Connors paced Lowry with 15 points and Kuskie added seven. Garrison netted four points and Hailey Fernandez, Garcia, Bengochea and Maestrejuan each had two points.
Connors and Kuskie each had three assists and Sappington had a team-high six rebounds.
Warriors hold off
Lady Bucks
Lowry closed out its tournament stay with a 44-42 loss to Meridian on Saturday, Dec. 23. Both offenses struggled at the start, combining for 10 points in the first quarter, as the game was tied 5-5.
The two schools picked up the pace in the second quarter, as Meridian grabbed a 20-17 advantage at halftime. The Warriors maintained the lead the rest of the way, stretching the margin to six points at the start of the fourth quarter.
Lowry rallied in the final eight minutes and had its chances at completing the comeback but fell short in the end.
The Lady Bucks found it tough going on offense, shooting just 26 percent from the field. Lowry was 5-of-33 from inside the 3-point line and 8-of-17 (47 percent) from beyond the arc.
Kuskie knocked down seven shots from long distance and had a game-high 26 points.
Connors finished with seven points and Garcia, Garrison, Sappington and Maestrejuan had two points apiece. Sappington also added 14 rebounds, three assists and two steals and Connors had seven rebounds and four assists.
Lowry was off this past week and is back on the floor on Friday, Jan. 5, in Fernley at 6 p.m.
The Lady Bucks close out the road trip in Fallon on Saturday, Jan. 6, against Churchill County at 1 p.m. It is a rematch of last year’s 3A state championship.
Lowry is back home to play Elko on Tuesday, Jan. 9, at 6 p.m.
