It took about a half to warm up, but the Battle Mountain High School girls basketball team caught fire in the second half to beat West Wendover 51-22 in the Northern 2A opener for the Lady Longhorns.
In addition, it was the first time Battle Mountain was on its home floor since February 2020, after missing out on last season to the Covid pandemic.
“It was our first league game,” said BMHS Paul Tremayne. “We did not shoot particularly well in the first half. The defensive pressure finally broke them down in the second half.”
Christina Holley scored six of the Lady Longhorns’ 10 points in the first quarter, helping Battle Mountain to a 10-9 lead after eight minutes of play.
West Wendover scored the first five points of the second quarter to complete a 7-0 run and take a 14-10 lead.
Holley stopped the run with a free throw and Battle Mountain took the lead for good after back-to-back baskets by Yezzel Guizar and Brynnlee Freeman.
The Lady Longhorns run reached 10-0 to end the half with a basket by Zarina Ceja to give Battle Mountain a 20-14 advantage at the break.
West Wendover knocked down a 3-pointer to start the third quarter, but it was all Battle Mountain after that.
After the long-distance shot by the Wolverines, the Lady Longhorns scored the next 10 points to lead. Behind eight points from Holley in the quarter, Battle Mountain led 35-20.
Ceja grew the lead to 42-20 early in the fourth quarter for Battle Mountain with a 3-pointer and layup and the Lady Longhorns did not look back.
Battle Mountain had three platers in double figures on the night, with Holley leading the way with 17. Ceja added 11 and Kaybrie Nield 10.
Freeman netted four points, Noliena Castellanos and Marena Fuller three each, Guizar two and Liliana Haney one.
“I thought the girls passed and shot the ball much better,” Tremayne said. “Our goal is to be one of the top two teams in the league this season. This was a good start.”
Battle Mountain’s scheduled non-conference game with Eureka was postponed due to the storm that hit the area.
Battle Mountain hosts Wells on Jan. 4 at 6 p.m. in a non-conference match-up.
Northern 2A play resumes on Friday, Jan. 7, as North Tahoe visits Battle Mountain. The Lady Longhorns host Incline on Saturday, Jan. 8.
