Girls basketball: Vaqueros drop two after opening win

Robert Perea, The Fernley Reporter

After opening the season Thursday with a dominant 41-16 win over Incline, the Fernley High School girls basketball team lost its next two to a pair of 4A teams to finish the High Sierra Winter Classic with a 1-2 record.

The Vaqueros followed Thursday’s win with a 59-35 loss to Spanish Springs, then finished the weekend with a 48-21 loss to McQueen.

In Friday’s win over Incline, the Vaqueros held the Highlanders scoreless over the final 10:21 of the first half, scoring 19 points in that stretch in building a 25-3 lead.

A 3-pointer by Jaiden Sullivan gave the Vaqueros their biggest lead of the game at 31-8 with 2:29 left in the third quarter.

“I was very pleased with our shot selection and the amount of shots we were getting up, we just weren’t doing a good enough job of finishing and making them,” coach John Rogers said. “But that will come. The more you shoot, the more the ball will go in.”

Rogers said he was happy with the team’s transition offense, which it has been working in preparation for the season. He also said he Vaqueros played very good help defense.

“We stunt and we do a good job of getting up and down the lane and helping each other out, so that really showed,” he said.

Erica Kingston led the Vaqueros with 10 points, while eight different players scored.

Friday, Spanish Springs jumped out to a 21-7 first quarter lead against the Vaqueros and outscored them in every quarter. Celeste Condie was Fernley’s top scorer with 11 points.

McQueen, likewise, jumped ahead early, 12-2 after one quarter and 24-8 at halftime, and the Vaqueros weren’t able to make a run. Condie led the team with 9 points.

“We turned the ball over way to much and didn’t shoot the ball very well at all in either game,” Rogers said. “Those two aspects of the game are critical and we struggled in both areas. If we don’t correct those two areas in a hurry, it will be a long season especially since our next five games are all on the road and against league opponents.”

Fernley scoring
Vs. Incline: Patrick 3, Burns 7, Jacobson 6, Sullivan 2, Erica Kingston 10, Montgomery 2, Bunyard 6, Condie 5
Vs. Spanish Springs: Patrick 3, Elle Kingston 1, Burns 1, Jacobson 3, Felton 2, Sullivan 2, Erica Kingston 8. Bunyard 4, Condie 11
Vs. McQueen: Burns 4, Jacobson 5, Montgomery 2, Bunyard 1, Condie 9