RENO — At the beginning of the school year, the McDermitt High School girls basketball team was not sure its was going to field a team this season.
So, when things got a little interesting for the Lady Bulldogs in the regional championship on Saturday afternoon at Wooster High School in Reno, the girls took it in stride and pulled away for their first regional title since 2016.
McDermitt built a 14-point lead in the second quarter against rival Eureka, only to see three-time Eastern 1A Player of the Year, Precious Masters, leave the game with an injury.
The Lady Bulldogs didn’t waiver and increased the lead to 17 points, which included a near half-court shot at the buzzer.
“The girls have been in that position before this year,” said MHS head coach Jaimi Wilkinson. “You could hear the air go out of the gym when Precious went to the floor. The girls came together like they have all year and played well with her out.”
Masters returned in the third quarter but the McDermitt offense disappeared, scoring just two points, as Eureka cut the deficit to 10 points.
“I am not sure what happened in that third quarter,” Wilkinson said. “We were all out of sorts. I think the girls saw that big lead and that we could cruise to the finish. Eureka is a good team and you have to give them credit for coming back.”
McDermitt regained its composure in the fourth quarter and held on for the 46-33 win.
“This one is a little sweeter since they took us out in the regional semifinals last year in double overtime,” Wilkinson said. “This one meant a little more for us."
Masters scored 11 of McDermitt’s 17 points in the first quarter, as the Lady Bulldogs took a 17-7 lead after eight minutes of play. Katie Crutcher opened the scoring to start the game for McDermitt with two baskets.
Masters netted the first bucket of the second quarter, but those were the only points of the period, as she left with her injury.
The 3-point shooting of Jasmine Northrup and Crutcher helped the Lady Bulldogs build a 27-13 advantage in the second quarter.
It took McDermitt over four minutes to score to start the third quarter, with Crutcher ending the drought with 3:49 left in the period. Those were the only points for the Lady Bulldogs.
Eureka went even longer without a point, finally scoring with 3:21 to go in the quarter, but the Vandals added seven more points to cut the deficit to 36-26.
That was as close as Eureka got, as Kali Sam added back-to-back buckets midway through the fourth quarter to increase the lead to 43-28 and McDermitt never looked back.
Lady Bulldogs beat Owyhee
McDermitt clinched its spot in the state tournament with a 56-43 win over Owyhee on Friday night. The Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a 16-5 lead in the first quarter and held the double-digit lead the rest of the way to pick up their third win over the Braves on the season.
“It was a physical game,” Wilkinson said. “We were bruised afterward. Playing Owyhee is never easy and that was the win we needed to get over that hump.”
McDermitt led 32-17 at halftime and kept Owyhee at bay in the final 16 minutes.
Masters paced the Lady Bulldogs with 27 points, while Northrup joined her in double figures with 16. Crutcher added six, Victoria Navarro added four points, Meianah Bitt two and Marley Astor one.
McDermitt crushes
Sierra Lutheran
McDermitt cruised to a 60-23 win over Sierra Lutheran in its opening game of the regional tournament on Thursday. The Lady Bulldogs raced out to a 19-6 lead after a quarter of play and were never threatened. The margin grew to 36-10 at halftime.
Masters outscored Sierra Lutheran by herself with 29 points, while Northrup and Crutcher joined her in double figures with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Sam added four points, Takayla Antonio three and Bitt one.
McDermitt (14-3) will take on Mineral County on Friday at SLAM Academy in Henderson at 6:30 p.m. in the opening round of the NIAA State Championships. Coleville, Calif., and Eureka play in the other semifinal at 3 p.m.
The championship game is slated for 6:20 p.m. on Saturday at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
“This is a special group,” added the coach. “We would not be able to do what we have done this year if we had anybody with egos. This is a team in every sense of the way. We are going to enjoy this one for a few seconds and get ready to play this week. We are going to travel as far as you can in the state of Nevada and still play a basketball game.”
