The McDermitt High School girls basketball team celebrates after receiving the championship trophy,
While the 3A has a pretty good rivalry going, the 1A East has one that is not bad at all.
The McDermitt High School girls basketball team and Eureka have been by far the two best teams in the league over the past couple years.
The Vandals got the best of the Lady Bulldogs a season ago winning the regional title.
The Lady Bulldogs avenged that loss with a regular season win this year and now a regional championship after a 41-39 win on Saturday at Spring Creek High School.
McDermitt’s Vina Tom goes up for a shot against Eureka during the 1A East championship on Saturday in Spring Creek.
In what would be the story line on the day, McDermitt raced to a comfortable lead in the first eight minutes of the contest.
Sadie Hinkey and Vina tom each scored four points in the opening quarter and Kiarra Crutcher added a late bucket to give the Lady Bulldogs a 14-5 advantage.
Aided by buckets from Hinkey and Tom, McDermitt pushed the lead to 20-7 midway through the second quarter.
The Lady Bulldogs led 26-19 at halftime after a basket by Hinkey.
The Lady Bulldogs saw that advantage slip away, as the Vandals scored nine straight points in the first three minutes of the third quarter to take their first lead at 28-26.
With the score tied at 30, McDermitt ended the quarter on a 6-0 run after a putback shot and layup by Reign Cruchter and a basket by Kiarra Crutcher.
McDermitt was cruising to the win, as Hinkey opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer to push the gap to 39-30. However, that was the lone field goal of the quarter for the Lady Bulldogs.
McDermitt’s Riata Palmer drives past a Eureka defender in Saturday’s title contest
After one free throw each from Reign Crutcher and Hinkey, McDermitt went scoreless for the final three minutes of the game. Eureka slowly closed the gap to 41-39 with 1:04 to play.
After an unsuccessful possession by McDermitt, Eureka had its chance to win or tie the game in the final 30 seconds but could not get off a good shot to do it.
Hinkey and Tom paced McDermitt with 12 points each, Reign Crutcher five, Laeloni Tobey and Kiarra Crutcher four each and Alexis Scott and Riata Palmer two each.
McDermitt 62, Owyhee 34
In the final weekend of the regular season, Owyhee handed McDermitt its first league loss 61-59 after 10 straight wins. It did not happen again in the 1A East semifinals on Friday afternoon, as the Lady Bulldogs came out on fire.
Tom scored nine of her 15 points in the first quarter and Hinkey added four points of her own, as McDermitt built a 21-10 lead after eight minutes.
Reign Crutcher and Tom knocked down 3-pointers in the second quarter and Reign Crutcher added six points, as the Lady Bulldogs pushed the advantage to 38-21 at halftime.
Kiarra Crutcher led all scorers with 18 points, Reign Crutcher added 11 points, Hinkey six, Tobey five, Palmer four and Scott three.
McDermitt opens the 1A State Tournament on Thursday at McQueen High School at 3 p.m. against Indian Springs.
Pahranagat Valley and Coleville play at 3 p.m. at North Valleys. The two winners play Friday at 11 a.m. at the Virginia Street Gym on the Nevada campus.
Pyramid Lake and Beaver Dam and Round Mountain and Eureka make up the bottom half of the bracket. Those winners play at 2:20 p.m. on Friday.
The championship is set for 10 a.m. on Saturday at Virginia Street Gym.
The McDermitt High School girls basketball team won the 1A East Regional championship with an 41-39 win over Eureka at Spring Creek High School.