The McDermitt High School girls basketball team began the defense of its Northern 1A regional championship, with a road trip to Wells and Jackpot this past weekend.
The Lady Bulldogs took on Wells on Friday, Jan. 6, and saw the Leopards rally in the fourth quarter for a 60-54 victory. McDermitt bounced back the following day to knock off Jackpot 47-36, to even its league record at 1-1 and 8-3 overall.
Wells comes back to beat McDermitt
Coming into the league opener, McDermitt had played just one game since mid-December and that was an easy victory over Rimrock, Idaho. The Lady Bulldogs had a game scheduled with Pyramid Lake on Jan. 3 but it was postponed due to weather.
Wells grabbed an early one point lead after the first quarter, but hat was short-lived. McDermitt shook off the rust of the road trip and outscored Wells 17-8 in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 28-20 lead.
Wells began its comeback in the third quarter and cut the deficit to three points at 42-39, off the strength of a 19-14 run. The Leopards fought their way back and used a 21-12 run in the final eight minutes to notch the six-point win.
Precious Masters led the Lady Bulldogs with 16 points, while fellow teammate Krissy Long added 14 points and 15 rebounds.
Lady Bulldogs' defensive effort turns back Jaguars
McDermitt appeared to be in cruise control to round the road trip, racing out to a 17-10 lead against Jackpot. However, the Jaguars turned the tables and held the Lady Bulldogs to just six points in the second quarter. Jackpot outscored McDermitt 14-6 to take a 24-23 halftime lead.
Whatever was said at halftime worked for the Lady Bulldogs, as they held the Jaguars to 12 points in the second half. McDermitt regained the advantage in the third quarter with a 12-5 run and pulled away in the fourth quarter with a 12-7 run to avoid the upset.
McDermitt (1-1 Eastern 1A, 8-3 overall) took on Carlin on Friday at home and results were not available at press time.
The Lady Bulldogs are back home today to face Owyhee. It is a rematch of the regional and state championship from a season ago.
