The Lowry High School girls basketball team clinched a spot in the Northern 3A Regional Championships with a pair of wins this past weekend. However, the Lady Bucks are still looking at locking up a potential bye in the first round of the tournament, which starts next month in Elko.
Lowry routed Sparks 58-10 on Friday night and defeated Truckee 43-31 on Saturday afternoon to move to 9-3 in the Northern 3A and 12-7 overall.
Lowry holds off Truckee
Both teams got off to a slow start offensively, with a combined five points through the first six minutes of the contest. Lowry opened up a three-point lead at 5-2 off a basket by Alyssa Kuskie but that was quickly countered with a 3-pointer by Truckee. The Lady Bucks grabbed the advantage back at the first quarter buzzer after a 3-pointer by Kuskie.
That started a 16-2 run for Lowry, who quickly increased the margin to 21-7. Sydney Connors started the second quarter with a 3-pointer and Lowry caught fire from the field. During the run, Kuskie added her second basket from long distance and Connors also made a second shot from beyond the arc. In between the 3-pointers, Kyllie Sappington added a pair of baskets.
After scoring just nine points in the first half, Truckee put a small scare into Lowry with nine points in the first 90 seconds of the third quarter to cut the deficit to 23-17.
That was as close as the Wolverines got, as Sappington reeled off the next six points and Brooke Hansen netted the final seven points of the third quarter. The Lady Bucks finished the third quarter on a 13-2 run, to lead 36-19.
Lowry never saw its advantage drop below 12 points in the final eight minutes of action, as the bench picked a number of minutes on the floor. Julisa Garcia, Heather Hall and Connors had baskets in the fourth quarter for Lowry. Truckee made a 30-foot shot at the buzzer to bring the final outcome to 12 points.
Sappington paced Lowry with 12 points, while Kuskie and Connors each scored eight. Hansen netted seven points, Becca Kuskie three and Garcia and Hall two each.
Lady Bucks
rout Railroaders
When Lowry played at Sparks back in December, the Lady Bucks got off to a slow start and its starters were pulled in the opening minutes of the first quarter.
There were no such problems this past Friday night in Winnemucca, as the Lady Bucks raced out to a 35-2 lead at halftime. Lowry held Sparks scoreless in the first quarter and led 13-0.
The contest was played with a running clock from the start of the second half, as Lowry built a 56-4 advantage after three quarters of play. Sparks surpassed its total of four points, with six points in the fourth quarter. Lowry had just one basket in the final eight minutes with the game already decided.
Hansen outscored Sparks by herself with 12 points, while Kepa Bengochea equaled the Sparks total with 10. Alyssa Kuskie had eight points, Hailey Fernandez, Sierra Maestrejuan, Connors and Sappington each had six points. Rachel Garrison and Victoria Tirado scored two points apiece.
Lowry closes out its home schedule this weekend, beginning with Fernley on Friday at 6 p.m. League-leading Fallon visits Winnemucca on Saturday for a 1 p.m. tip.
Churchill County is 11-0 in the Northern 3A, while Spring Creek and Lowry are tied for second at 9-3. However, Spring Creek holds the tiebreaker over Lowry.
Fernley is fourth at 7-4, followed by Elko (6-5) and Truckee (5-7). The Lady Bucks can finish as high as second in the league but no worse than fifth.
