The Battle Mountain High School girls basketball team wrapped up its preseason scheduled with a split of four games at the Comstock Classic in Virginia City this past weekend.
Battle Mountain opened the tournament with an easy 50-17 win over Round Mountain. The Knights play in the Central 1A. Zarina Ceja paced the Lady Longhorns with 13 points, four steals and four assists. Kaybrie Nield notched a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds and Kira Smith had 10 points.
Battle Mountain won by near the same margin in its next game, beating Sierra Lutheran 50-15, as Brooke Ripley led the way with 12 points. All 10 girls scored for the Lady Longhorns.
In the opening tournament of the year, Battle Mountain had a late lead over Mineral County but lost in overtime. The two teams met again in Virginia City and once again Mineral County collected a 62-58 win in overtime.
Nield continued her strong start to the season with 19 points and 13 points. Ceja contributed nine points, five assists and four steals and Ripley added eight points.
“We played very well in this game,” said BMHS coach Paul Tremayne. “We got a little excited late and did not take care of the basketball. It was a very good game for our girls to play in.”
Battle Mountain concluded the tournament on Saturday with a 52-45 loss to Coleville, Calif. The Wolves led 12-8 after the first quarter, only to see the Lady Longhorns rally with a 19-7 run in the second quarter to lead 27-19 at halftime.
However, Coleville came out of the break with a rally of its own in the third quarter with an 18-7 run to go in front 37-34. The Wolves continued to pull away in the fourth quarter to earn the win.
Nield had another double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds, Christina Holley had seven points and 10 rebounds and Jade Castellanos six points and six rebounds.
“The girls had a good weekend,” added the coach. “We were in two very competitive games. We turned the basketball over far to many times. We need to work on the defensive end a little bit. We have had a good preseason and are looking forward to starting league play.”
Battle Mountain makes its home debut on Friday against Incline at 5 p.m. The Lady Longhorns host North Tahoe on Saturday at 2 p.m.
