MCDERMITT — The McDermitt High School girls basketball team finished up its final weekend at home this year with a pair of victories over Wells and Jackpot.
The Lady Bulldogs avenged an earlier loss to the Leopards, with an easy 53-28 win on Friday night. McDermitt completed the season sweep of Jackpot on Saturday, winning 57-35 to improve to 4-2 in the Eastern 1A and 12-4 overall.
“We came out with a plan to get the ball inside against Wells,” said MHS coach Jaimi Wilkinson. “We wanted to use Precious (Masters) and Krissy (Long) inside and take control of the paint. We did that a couple of times early and Wells never got in the game.”
McDermitt shuts down Jackpot
The first time the two teams played on the Idaho border, Jackpot threw a bit of a scare into McDermitt. That would happen a second time, as the Lady Bulldogs dominated from the start.
Jasmine Northrup and Masters each knocked down 3-point shots to give McDermitt a 10-2 lead in the first quarter. Masters, a sophomore, had five of the 10 points in the first eight minutes.
McDermitt controlled the boards and had numerous second chances at the basket in the first half. Masters was fouled to start the second quarter after a made basket, Morissa Bitt put back the missed free throw for another two points. The next time down the floor, Long put back a shot after getting a rebound inside.
Back-to-back baskets by Northrup, including her second 3-pointer, and a steal and layup by Sienna Astor gave McDermitt its largest lead of the first half at 25-11 with three minutes to go. Jackpot made a small run and scored the final five points of the second quarter, but got no closer the rest of the way.
The Lady Bulldogs began the second half on a 9-0 run, with baskets from three different players in Long, Masters and Northrup.
The Jaguars did not score their first points of the third quarter, until five minutes had elapsed. McDermitt outscored Jackpot 17-8, which included a 3-pointer by Astor at the end of the period.
“We were missing a couple girls and it was good to have the younger kids play the minutes they did,” Wilkinson said. “They did a good job when they were on the floor.”
Jackpot closed the gap to 14 at one point in the fourth quarter, but McDermitt quickly answered and raised the margin to 24 late in the contest.
The Lady Bulldogs had three players in double figures, with Masters leading the way with 13. Astor and Northrup ended with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Long netted eight points, Morissa Bitt five and Shania Lenoir, Megan Sam and Meianah Bitt three each.
|Lady Bulldogs crush Leopards
McDermitt celebrated Winterfest in a big way with a 25-point victory over Wells. The Leopards beat the Lady Bulldogs in the first match-up this season, but it was a much different story this past weekend.
The Lady Bulldogs held the Leopards in single digits in every quarter and were never challenged. McDermitt jumped out to a 12-5 advantage in the first quarter, behind baskets from Morissa Bitt, Northrup, Masters and Long.
The Lady Bulldogs extended the lead to double figures by halftime with a 13-9 run in the second quarter. Morissa Bitt added six points in the third quarter and finished with 10 points on the night.
“Morissa had one of her best nights,” Wilkinson said. “That was the best she played all year. She got a couple big baskets when we needed them.”
Despite converting just one field goal in the final eight minutes, McDermitt was still able to double up Wells 12-6 in the fourth quarter. The Lady Bulldogs scored 10 of their 12 points from the free throw line. McDermitt also did not make a 3-point shot on the night.
Wells made just 10 field goals in the contest and was 4-of-14 from the free throw line.
“It was a good win for us,” said the coach. “We frustrated them the first couple times down the floor and it was like they did not want to be there.”
Masters paced McDermitt with 16 points, while Long added 14. Morissa Bitt joined them in double figures with 10. Northrup scored four points and Dacey Horn, Marley Astor and Sienna Astor had two points apiece.
The battle for one of the top spots in the Eastern 1A was up for grabs on Tuesday night, as McDermitt hosted Eureka. The game was originally set for Jan. 20, but a scheduling snafu postponed the contest. Results were not available at press time.
McDermitt heads out on the road this weekend to play Carlin on Friday and Owyhee on Saturday. The Railroaders are winless in league play, while the Braves are tied with Eureka for first at 5-1, after losing 69-68 to the Vandals on Saturday.
McDermitt closes out the regular season on Friday, Feb. 10, in Eureka.
“We have a tough stretch of games ahead of us,” Wilkinson said. “We have to go on the road for two of them. Right now we are trying to position ourselves for the best possible playoff spot.”
