ELKO — It has been a struggle at times this year for the Lowry High School girls basketball team but the perennial Northern 3A power is starting to play like the squads of the past.
The Lady Bucks have nine new players on the roster this year, which at times has made it tough to find out what rotation of players works the best. After losing five of six games at the end of December and the start of January, the Lady Bucks won seven of its final eight games.
Lowry closed out the regular season this past weekend with road wins at Spring Creek and Elko to clinch the No. 2 seed in the Northern 3A Regional Championships this weekend in Elko. The Lady Bucks defeated the Spartans 60-38 on Friday and the Indians 63-48 on Saturday to finish league play at 12-4.
I am completely proud of these girls,” said LHS coach Chelsea Cabatbat. “We actually had a tough week of practice. We weren’t gelling and it’s been like that for much of the year. We were playing more as individuals. I felt this weekend everything came together and we played as a team and the results showed that. We had girls come off the bench that came out and helped when we were in a funk. Adding nine new girls is tough but if we play like we did this weekend and come together as a team like we did, we will be OK.”
Lowry knocks off Elko
The regular season finale did not start well, as Elko, energized by its home crowd on Senior Day, jumped out to an 11-2 lead. After Lowry called a timeout, the Lady Bucks settled down and quieted the crowd with a 20-0 run.
Juli Garcia came off the bench and knocked down a 17-foot shot and Becca Kuskie made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to close the gap to 11-7.
“Those were big baskets right there,” Cabatbat said. That got us going. It’s just not my starters right now and the bench has been a huge part of this team.”
Lowry took the lead for good at 12-11 after a 3-pointer by Sydney Connors after a steal by the Lowry defense and Alyssa Kuskie followed with a 3-pointer after getting a rebound off her own miss. Connors and Alyssa Kuskie combined for 48 points to match Elko’s total. Connors added four more points in the spurt and Alyssa Kuskie added a second 3-pointer to finish off the 20-0 run and give Lowry a 22-11 lead with 4:30 left in the first half.
Elko’s scoreless streak of over eight minutes came to end with 3:44 to go in the second quarter but that was quickly countered by a runner down the lane by Hailey Fernandez. Connors made four free throws down the stretch to give Lowry a 28-20 lead at the half.
The Lady Bucks stuck the dagger in the heart of the Indians with the first nine of the second half. Connors and Alyssa Kuskie converted back-to-back 3-pointers and Alyssa Kuskie added a layup to push the advantage to 37-20. The lead never dropped below double figures from there.
Elko managed to cut the deficit to 39-27 late in the third quarter, only to see Lowry hold on to the ball for nearly 45 seconds on the next possession and score on a short shot by Alyssa Kuskie.
Alyssa Kuskie opened the fourth quarter with consecutive 3-pointers to increase the lead to 49-29 and Sierra Maestrejuan and Rachel Garrison added buckets, as the Lady Bucks were not threatened in the fourth quarter.
Connors finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double, while Alyssa Kuskie added 21 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Becca Kuskie added four points, Garcia three and Kepa Bengochea, Garrison. Maestrejuan and Fernandez each had two points.
“We are gelling right now and peaking at the perfect time,” Cabatbat said.
Lady Bucks rout Spartans
The first time Lowry played Spring Creek, the Spartans shocked the Lady Bucks by a point on last-second free throw. That did not happen again, as Lowry had six different players score in the first quarter to give Lowry a 16-4 advantage.
Kyllie Sappington and Connors each had five points, while Heather Hall came off the bench to add a bucket.
The Lady Bucks increased the lead to 33-15 at halftime on the strength of five points by Fernandez in the second quarter. Lowry spent much of the second quarter at the free throw line, shooting 12 times from the charity stripe.
It was much of the same in the second half, with Lowry keeping its lead around 20-25 points. The Lady Bucks shot 33 free throws on the night, which turned out to be a physical game on both sides.
“We have been in a must-win situation for the past few weeks,” Cabatbat said. “This is the toughest road trip on the schedule and the girls played their best basketball of the year.”
Connors paced Lowry with 17 points and Alyssa Kuskie added 12. Fernandez netted seven points, Brooke Hansen six, Sappington five, Maestrejuan four, Garcia, Hall, Garrison each had two and Bengochea one.
Churchill County and Lowry have secured the first-round byes in the regional tournament. Elko will play Fernley on Thursday and Spring Creek will face Truckee. Lowry plays the winner of Spring Creek and Truckee on Friday at 3 p.m. at Elko High School. Churchill County will take on Fernley or Elko at 6:20 p.m. on Friday.
The championship is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday. The two finalists advance to the state tournament next week in Reno.
“Getting that bye is huge for us,” Cabatbat said. “Everyone was sending me the tiebreaker rules and I couldn’t take it anymore. All I knew is if we won both games, we didn’t have to worry about the tiebreakers. Now, we need one win and not two to get to the state tournament. We have some things to clean up and get ready for whoever we play.”
