MCDERMITT — After a scheduling snafu prevented the McDermitt High School girls basketball team from playing Eureka on Jan. 20, the Lady Bulldogs had some extra time on their hands in between contests.
Each team believed that they were playing at each others' home floor, adding to the confusion. The game will now be played in McDermitt on Tuesday. The second game of the series will be at Eureka on Feb. 10.
McDermitt was back on the floor on Wednesday night against Jordan Valley, Ore. — a team that beat the Lady Bulldogs in the season-opener back in November.
After getting off to a slow start, the Lady Bulldogs rallied for a 49-44 win over the Mustangs.
“Too many days off in between games,” said MHS coach Jaimi Wilkinson. “We were rusty. We turned the ball over way too much, and could not make a shot. When we ran the offense right, we were able to do some good things.”
McDermitt had the look of a team that had not played in 11 days, while Jordan Valley struggled as well in the first half. The squads mirrored each other with six points in the first quarter and seven in the second to go into the break tied at 13-13.
Senior Krissy Long had nine of the Lady Bulldogs’ points in the first half, while Precious Masters and Megan Sam each added a bucket. In addition, McDermitt was 1-of-7 from the free throw line in the first half. There were six ties in the first 16 minutes of play, and no team led by more than two points.
Adrie Smart gave McDermitt its largest lead of the night to open the third quarter, with a 3-point field goal. That 3-point lead was short-lived, as Jordan Valley countered with six consecutive points to go in front 19-16.
The Lady Bulldogs tied the game on three occasions in the third quarter, off of baskets by Masters, Sam and Jasmine Northrup. The basket by Northrup made the score 23-23, when Jordan Valley went on a 9-3 run to take its largest lead at 32-26.
The Mustangs held a 35-32 advantage with six minutes to play, when Long and Masters combined for six straight points to put the Lady Bulldogs back in front 38-35. Despite, Jordan Valley tying the game at 38, McDermitt never trailed again.
Baskets by Morissa Bitt, Long and Masters capped off a 6-0 with 2:54 to play and McDermitt led by as many as 10 points with a minute to play.
“We were able to finish our offensive sets and make some baskets in the fourth quarter,” Wilkinson said. “Jordan Valley is a good team.”
Long led all scorers with 20 points and was back in double figures in rebounds. Masters added 12 points, Smart six, Sam four and Northrup and Bitt two each.
McDermitt (2-2 Eastern 1A, 10-4 overall) hosted Wells on Friday and results were not available at press time. The Lady Bulldogs take on Jackpot today (Saturday) at 12:30 p.m.
McDermitt is back home on Tuesday to play Eureka at 3 p.m.
