After starting the season with a handful of new faces due to graduation, the McDermitt High School girls basketball team found itself back in the Northern 1A Regional Championships last week at Elko High School.
The Lady Bulldogs entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed from the Eastern 1A, and pulled off a 54-41 victory over Mineral County on Thursday, Feb. 16. The Serpents came into the championships, as the No. 2 seed from the Western 1A.
“We started off slowly,” said MHS coach Jaimi Wilkinson. “There were some nerves. We had trouble breaking the press in the first half. We made some changes at halftime and the girls responded. We came out with a nice third quarter.”
Krissy Long and Morissa Bitt combined to score the first seven points for the Lady Bulldogs. However, Mineral County kept the deficit close, trading baskets with McDermitt for much of the first eight minutes of play.
Longs’ sixth and seventh points of the first quarter gave the Lady Bulldogs a 12-9 advantage, but the Serpents scored the last four points of the first quarter to take their first lead at 13-12.
Precious Masters and Long did much of the damage in the second quarter for McDermitt, but Jasmine Northrup added a spark on the floor as well. The freshman had a steal and layup and short jump shot to give McDermitt a two-point lead on separate occasions.
The Lady Bulldogs turned a one-point deficit after eight minutes into a 24-23 advantage at halftime.
The difference in the night proved to be the third quarter, where the McDermitt defense stepped up and held Mineral County to four points. The two squads traded the first two baskets of the second half, but the Lady Bulldogs ended the third quarter by scoring nine of the final 11 points.
Long scored six of the 11 points, while Masters added three and Bitt two.
McDermitt put the contest out of reach, scoring the first seven points of the fourth quarter to cap off an 18-4 run and lead 42-27. Masters netted the first six points of the fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer on the opening possession.
Mineral County made it interesting for a few moments late in the fourth quarter, when it cut the gap to 44-36. However, the Lady Bulldogs answered with six quick points, including a 3-pointer by Long to push the lead back to 50-36 with 1:12 to play.
Long scored 23 points for the Lady Bulldogs, while Masters added 15 points. Bitt netted five points, Meianah Bitt four, Shania Lenoir, Sienna Astor and Northrup two each and Adrie Smart one.
McDermitt defeated by Owyhee
The win moved McDermitt into the Northern 1A regional semifinals against rival Owyhee. The two schools played in the regional and state championships a season ago.
The Braves pulled away in the second half for a 71-58 win, as the Lady Bulldogs ended the season at 15-7.
“We may not have won the game, but these young girls won the game of life,” Wilkinson said. “People counted them out and they never gave up — not on themselves, not on each other and definitely not on me.”
The two teams traded buckets in the first quarter with the game tied at 13.
Masters used a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter and finished with 28 points on the night in her final game as a sophomore. Neither team could pull away in the first half, with Owyhee leading 32-30 at halftime.
The contest remained close throughout the second half, with McDermitt in striking distance of getting the victory. Owyhee pulled away in the final minutes of the fourth quarter to notch the win.
McDermitt graduates three seniors off the squad in Megan Sam, Dacey Horn and Long. Long leaves the Lady Bulldogs, as the all-time leading rebounder in Nevada history.
