After suffering through a long layoff and missing last season due to the Covid pandemic, the Battle Mountain High School girls basketball team was back on the floor this past weekend at the Serpent Classic in Hawthorne.
The Lady Longhorns went 3-2 in the three-day event their first action since February 2020.
“The Lady Longhorns had a good weekend,” said BMHS coach Paul Tremayne. “It was very exciting to be playing again after last year. We did a lot of good things as a team.”
Battle Mountain opened the tournament with a 41-27 win over Virginia City. Senior Kaybrie Nield had a team-high 16 points and eight rebounds and fellow senior Jade Castellanos added eight points.
Battle Mountain had little trouble with host Mineral County, winning 51-10. Senior Zarina Ceja outscored the Serpents by herself with 15 points, to go with five steals.
Nield matched the Mineral County score with 10 points and junior Christina Holley had eight points, seven rebounds and five steals
On Friday, Battle Mountain suffered its first loss on the early season, falling 35-33 to Bishop Union, Calif.
Ceja had 11 points and six steals for the Lady Longhorns, while senior Brynnlee Freeman added eight points and nine rebounds. Yezzel Guizar and Castellanos each netted six points.
Battle Mountain closed out Friday with its second win of the day, knocking off Smith Valley. The Lady Longhorns led 26-11 at halftime and never looked back.
Freeman reached double figures with 13 points, Nield added eight and Guizar seven.
In the final game of the tournament, Battle Mountain took on Fallon of the Northern 3A and the Greenwave pulled out a narrow victory, winning 41-36.
Ceja paced Battle Mountain with 12 points and Holley contributed eight points, eight rebounds and three steals.
“This tournament always is a great want to start the season,” Tremayne said. “We get a lot of court time and can identify things that need to be worked on. We turned the ball over way too much. We have to be a little more fluid on offense. It is going to be a good season.”
Battle Mountain is scheduled to play in the Comstock Classic in Virginia City this weekend.
The Lady Longhorns are scheduled to play Pahranagat Valley on Friday at 2:40 p.m. and Mineral County at 5:20 p.m.
On Saturday, Battle Mountain faces Coleville, Calif., at 9 a.m. and host Virginia City at 2:20 p.m.
Battle Mountain is scheduled to make its home debut on Thursday, Dec. 16, against Eureka at 6 p.m.
