Lowry’s Bryce Brinkerhoff and Cambira Tisue (4) fight for a rebound.
One of the best rivalries in the state over the last two years has belonged in northern Nevada.
The Lowry High School girls basketball team and Fernley have played seven times in the last two season — providing a battle to the end in just about all of them.
The Vaqueros have won five of the seven contests, but the Lady Bucks claimed the state title in 2023 after three earlier losses.
The Lowry High School girls basketball team captured the Northern 3A Regional championship with an 82-71 win over Fernley at Elko High School.
Fernley won the first two games this year, only to see Lowry claim the Northern 3A Regional title 82-71 this past Saturday at Elko High School.
It was just the second loss of the season for the Vaqueros — the other was to Northern 4A champion Bishop Manogue.
Lowry (20-6) picked up a complete team effort in the win, with four players in double figures to score the season-high 82 points.
The Lady Bucks head to Reno as the No. 1 seed from northern Nevada and will be making their 26th appearance at the state tournament.
Lowry has reached the state tournament eight times since 2014. They did not qualify the tournament in 2020 and the 2021 season was canceled due to Covid.
The Lowry High School girls basketball team celebrates after receiving the championship trophy,
The two rivals traded punches early in the first quarter with four ties in the early minutes.
Fernley pulled away for a 17-11 lead when senior Autum Sanchez knocked down a 3-pointer to close the gap.
She scored seven of her 13 points in the first eight minutes of the contest.
The game of whatever you can do, I can do better continued through the second quarte.
A pair of buckets by Britain Backus, two free throws from Khlloe Shorey and jumper by Sanchez gave Lowry a 24-20 lead and forcing Fernley to take a timeout.
Fernley came back to tie the game at 26, 28 and 30, when Stoker nailed a 3-pointer to put Lowry up 33-30.
Lowry’s Savannah Stoker looks to go up for a shot as she is double teamed by Fernley defenders.
The Vaqueros came back with a 6-2 run to lead 36-35 at halftime.
Fernley made the opening basket of the second half and it was all Lowry after that. Stoker knocked down a 2-pointer that started a 28-9 run to give the Lady Bucks an 18-point lead at one time.
Stoker outscored Fernley by herself in the quarter with 15 and finished with a game-high 34 points.
Bryce Brinkerhoff added a 3-pointer in the big quarter and Shorey added six points.
Backus scored the first six points of the fourth quarter for the Lady Bucks and Stoker added a basket as well to push the advantage to 71-51.
The Vaqueros did not go quietly, roaring back with a 15-4 run to cut the deficit to 75-66 with 1:17 to play but they would get no closer.
Sanchez stopped the run with four free throws down the stretch to give the Lady Bucks the win. Lowry was 23-of-29 from the free throw line.
Stoker finished with 34 points, Backus 15, Sanchez 13, Shorey 12, Brinkerhoff six and Natalee Formby two.
Lowry 79, North Valleys 39
Backus, a junior, hit a milestone in the semifinals on Friday against North Valleys, surpassing the 1,000-point mark for her Lowry career.
She scored 17 points in the first quarter and Stoker added 12, as the Lady Bucks erased any though of an upset with a 30-7 lead in the first quarter.
Stoker finished with a game-high 39 points and Backus finished with 25. Shorey added nine points, Brinkerhoff four and Cambria Tisue two.
Lowry begins defense of its back-to-back state titles on Wednesday at 12:20 p.m. against Pahrump Valley at Lawlor Events Center in Reno. Fernley and Moapa Valley play at 9 a.m. on Wednesday.
The championship is set for 3:40 p.m. on Thursday at Lawlor Events Center.
In the boys 3A state tournament, Fernley plays Democracy Prep and Elko takes on Mater East.
The championship is 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.