It proved to be a wild night last Friday, as the McDermitt High School girls basketball team made its way to eastern Nevada to Eureka to close out the first half of the Eastern 1A schedule.
In what proved to be two totally different halves, Eureka overcame a 21-point, first-half deficit to beat McDermitt 35-32.
“As a first year coach at McDermitt it was unlike anything I had ever seen,” said MHS coach April Wilson.
McDermitt dominated the first half, leading 15-2 after eight minutes of play and 27-6 at halftime. Junior Katie Crutcher scored all 18 of her points in the first half.
Senior Meianah Bitt added 10 points, with most of those coming in the first 16 minutes of play.
“Katie is an offensive threat every game,” Wilson said. “She can score from anywhere. Jasmine (Northrup) was moved to point guard for this match-up and boy did it change our game. She executed offenses, controlled the momentum on the floor, and on top of that. With the help of post player Takayla (Antonio), they shut down Eureka’s Ilyah Greely to six points in the first half.”
As good as it was in the first half for McDermitt, it went bad in a hurry in the second half.
Crutcher, who did not have a foul in the first half, quickly picked up five fouls in the first four minutes of the third quarter, leaving the Lady Bulldogs with just five players. Eureka held McDermitt scoreless for much of the third quarter, using a 13-2 run to close the gap to 29-19.
Antonio also fouled out in the second half, leaving McDermitt with four players in the fourth quarter.
The Vandals continued the rally, holding the Lady Bulldogs to just three points in the fourth quarter. Eureka completed the comeback with a 16-3 run.
“Takayla played her heart out by getting great positioning under the basket and as usual play tough defense,” added the coach. “Takayla is my workhorse — she never quits, and never complains. Meianah stepped up big time this weekend when I put her in a shooting guard position. She is one of those players who is very selfless. She is always looking for others to score but has a fantastic shot herself. This weekend and weekends to come I am looking for her to be one of our top scorers. She has always been one of the best defensive players that I have watched under Jaimi Wilkinson and now as her coach she sets the tone on defense. This player causes more deflections that turn into transition lay-ups, she will be next to impossible to replace next year.”
Rylee Wilkinson and Northrup each had two points for McDermitt.
McDermitt travels to Jackpot today (Saturday) for a 1 p.m. tip in its final regular season road trip of the year.
The Lady Bulldogs will be busy next week, hosting Jordan Valley, Ore., on Thursday at 4 p.m., Carlin on Friday at 6 p.m. and Owyhee on Saturday at 1 p.m.
McDermitt sits in the fourth and final playoff spot in the Eastern 1A at 2-4 and 8-7 overall. Wells leads the league at 6-0, while Eureka (4-2) and Owyhee (3-1) are second and third, respectfully. The top four teams from the Eastern 1A qualify for the regional tournament against the Southern 1A. The West and Central will play in the other regional tournament.
“We are on a road to redemption with all the home games we have coming up,” Wilson said. “I just hope my girls are ready to rise to the challenge as a team.”
