The Lowry High School girls basketball team made sure it will be spending part of the postseason in the comforts of their own beds.
The Lady Bucks used a 34-9 run in the second and third quarters on Tuesday night in Winnemucca to beat rival Spring Creek 48-29 to clinch a spot in the Northern 3A Regional Tournament.
Lowry improved to 9-2 in league play and 17-3 overall. The Lady Bucks need just one more victory to clinch a top three seed, when the rest of the Northern 3A comes back to Winnemucca from Feb. 16-18.
“We came out and played really well in the second and third quarters,” said LHS Chelsea Cabatbat. We struggled when we played them up there. With a busy schedule coming up, it was a good chance to rest the starters in the fourth quarter. There was no reason to have them out there and get hurt on a fluke play.”
Lowry never trailed on the night, scoring eight of the first 10 points, which included a 3-pointer by Alyssa Kuskie and baskets by Brooklyn Waller and Hannah Hillyer.
Spring Creek closed the gap to four points late in the opening quarter, when Kepa Bengochea made a runner at the buzzer.
After giving up the first basket of the second quarter, Lowry answered back with seven straight points, with the first five by sophomore Sydney Connors. The Lady Bucks doubled up the Spartans late in the first half, when Kuskie knocked down a 3-pointer following a steal by Kenadee Jeppsen. The next time down the floor, Waller connected on a basket from 17 feet to give Lowry a 28-14 advantage.
Spring Creek netted the initial basket of the third quarter, but it was all Lowry after that. The Lady Bucks finished the period on a 19-1 run to extend the margin to 48-17.
Kuskie had two 3-pointers in the third quarter, while Brooklyn Backus added the final five points of the run. Connors had four points during the spurt in the final four minutes, while Tiana Herrera and Jeppsen each had baskets.
That was all the scoring for the Lady Bucks, who went scoreless in the final eight minutes of play. The Spartans outscored Lowry 12-0 to make the score appear closer than the game was.
Kuskie and Connors paced Lowry with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Backus and Waller each netted five points, Jeppsen had four and Bengochea, Herrera and Hillyer had two each and Hailey Hinkle one.
Churchill County has all but locked up a bye and the No. 1 seed for the regional tournament, entering this weekend at 13-0.
Lowry and Elko were tied for second at 9-2, but the Indians played the Greenwave on Friday night. Lowry can clinch the No. 2 seed with a win over Elko on Tuesday night in Winnemucca at 6 p.m.
Spring Creek, Fernley and South Tahoe are tied for fourth at 6-6.
