After a slow start to the Northern 2A schedule, the Battle Mountain High School girls basketball team has bounced back in a big way and moved into fourth place in the league standings.
The Lady Longhorns continued their winning ways this past weekend on the road. Battle Mountain had little trouble with Silver Stage in a 64-44 victory. Battle Mountain jumped out to a 39-19 advantage at halftime and led by as many as 30 points in the second half.
Yulisa Vazquez was one of three players in double figures, as she finished with 16 points, six steals and four assists. Riane Schroeder had 13 points and eight rebounds and Grace Melver had 11 points and four steals
“The girls did a real good job of jumping on them early,” said BMHS coach Paul Tremayne.
Battle Mountain moved to 5-3 in the Northern 2A, with a 65-45 win over Yerington on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Longhorns grabbed the early lead once again and never looked back.
Sruti Bhakta had a game-high 20 points to go with five assists and five steals. Schroeder added 13 points and nine rebounds and Vazquez had 10 points.
“We came out early and applied a lot of pressure from the start,” Tremayne said. “The girls jumped out to a 35-24 halftime advantage. Sometimes we have had periods where we just do not score. It was nice to see us carry our offensive consistency thru out the game. The girls had a real good weekend.”
Battle Mountain starts an important stretch of home games this weekend, beginning Friday against West Wendover at 6 p.m.
The Lady Longhorns take on White Pine on Saturday at 2 p.m. Battle Mountain lost to both teams at the start of league play.
Battle Mountain is back on its home floor on Wednesday, Feb. 8, to host Incline in a game that postponed earlier in the year. That contest will tip off at 4 p.m.
West Wendover leads the Northern 2A at 9-1, while White Pine is second and Pershing County (7-2) is third.
“We are now done playing road games,” Tremayne said. “The fun thing is that we hold our playoff fate in our own hands. We could win the league or not qualify for the tournament at all.”
