Pershing County hoop girls split games

There’s nothing sadder in basketball than watching a lead slip away. Especially in a high stakes game on your home court.

That’s what happened to the Pershing County High School girls basketball team last Thursday night when they hosted Battle Mountain. 

The final score was 39-37, with Battle Mountain coming back to win.

However, Pershing County bounced back for senior night and trounced visiting West Wendover 46-26. It was a farewell game for two seniors, Kaylen Halverson and Kaydance Happy. The Mustangs also have two senior managers — Benni Pimpognoli and Nova Karlsson, both exchange students.

The girls now stand at 17-6 overall and 10-4 in the Northern 2A. They are second in the league behind undefeated North Tahoe (14-0). By beating West Wendover they secured the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye at the regionals this weekend.

BMHS rallies behind for two-point win

Lovelock jumped out to an early lead with a 3-pointer from Yasmine McKinney and back-to-back buckets from Raegan Burrows. At the half the Mustangs led 25-12 and seemed unstoppable. That’s when it all fell apart.

“This was a game of two halves. We played well and controlled the first half. Foul trouble hurt us throughout the game. We could not find a good rhythm,” coach Lee Houston said. 

The Longhorns had a big third quarter. 

They put 17 points on the board and shrank their deficit to five points 34-29. Suddenly it looked like the game was up for grabs. 

With 58 seconds left on the clock the Longhorns tied up the score at 37. 

The Longhorn and Mustang student sections competed to see who could yell the loudest. Battle Mountain scored the last two points of the game to nab the win.

Raegan Burrows led the scoring for the Mustangs with 14 points. Kaydance Happy added eight. Yasmine McKinney scored two 3-pointers for six points.

PCHS bounces back for senior night win

On Friday night Lovelock recovered from their setback and won their last regular game of the year against West Wendover. Yasmine McKinney seemed to be everywhere. She led the scoring with 14 points, including her third and fourth 3-pointers of the weekend.

Anna Happy stepped up handling the ball and scored 12 points. Kaydance Happy and Raegan Burrows each added eight. Meanwhile, Pershing’s defense held the Wolverines to six points in the first half.

“This game was a good momentum builder going into the post season. We look forward to a great week of practice to prepare for the zone playoffs. Thank you to the awesome parents that made spirit week great for the players and coaches,” said Houston.

The regional action is at Incline High School this weekend. On Thursday, the Mustangs have a bye. Meanwhile, Yerington squares off against Battle Mountain and West Wendover plays CASR. 

On Friday, Feb. 17, the Mustangs will play the winner of the West Wendover/CASR game starting at 3 p.m. 

The regional final is on Saturday, Feb 18, at 11 a.m.