The high point of the Pershing County High School girls basketball week happened on Thursday night against North Tahoe.
Pershing County didn’t pull off the win. In fact, they lost all three games this week.
Two of the losses were close calls. One was a major shellacking from a top-ranked team.
But something almost magical happened in the PCHS gym on senior night.
The week in review
Last Tuesday the Mustangs lost to Battle Mountain on the road 39-35.
On Thursday, they hosted North Tahoe, losing 37-35.
They ended the week in Incline Village with a 56-18 loss against the Highlanders. Not the Mustangs’ luckiest week.
Presley Burrows scored 15 points against the Longhorns and went 5-6 from the line.
She also had seven rebounds and four steals. Kaydance Happy added 11 points, seven rebounds and went 3-4 from the line.
On Thursday night Spirit Week posters adorned the walls of the PCHS gym. Girls collecting donations for their class wore sparkly off-the-shoulder dresses or elegant white pantsuits.
The home crowd was almost as energetic as the athletes.
“Aledda Sam got the start and played a few minutes at the beginning of the game,” said Lee Houston. “She hit two 3-pointers and the crowd went crazy.” Magic.
Last fall a volleyball injury sidelined Sam from sports for awhile. Even so, the graduating senior helped her volleyball and basketball teams.
“It took us a while to settle into the game after the emotional festivities. North Tahoe came to play and are much improved,” said Houston.
Unfortunately, Presley Burrows went down with a knee injury in the fourth quarter. Coaches Houston and Damien McKinney carried her to the bench and wrapped her knee.
“It was a huge blow to the momentum we had going late in the game. The girls made some big plays down the stretch but it wasn’t enough to pull out a win,” said Houston.
The Lady Mustangs also said goodbye to Bela Rosas, Presley Burrows, Kylee Fuller and managers Braydon Wagner and Sidonie Cassaret.
The Mustang’s week ended with a road trip and a loss to the Incline Highlanders.
“We went limping into Incline after a long week. They are by far the best team in our league. They have size and skill and would challenge anyone at any level right now. We found it tough to get good shots and also to slow them down,” said Houston.
However, as always, there were bright spots.
“In the first half, freshman Aaliyah Allen played aggressively and didn’t back down from the challenge. In the second half, Kylee Fuller stood out with her attitude and effort,” said the coach. Fuller led the scoring with eight points.
On Friday, Feb. 11, the Mustangs play their last regular game of the season against West Wendover, a road game.
They continue fighting for the two seed in the north.
