Fernley girls reach State Tournament 

Robert Perea, The Fernley Reporter 

A dominant eight-minute stretch of basketball during the second half of last Friday’s Northern 3A regional semifinal was enough to push the Fernley High school girls basketball team into this week’s 3A State Tournament. 

The Vaqueros used a 22-4 run bridging the third and fourth quarters to beat North Valleys 61-50, which qualified them for the State Tournament and advanced them to the regional championship game. There, they lost 63-31 to Fallon. 

The Vaqueros will face Virgin Valley in the State semifinals at 6:20 p.m. Thursday at Clark High School in Las Vegas, hoping to reach Friday’s championship game at 3 p.m. at the Cox Pavilion on the campus of UNLV. 

Taylor Tollestrup dominated the inside for the Vaqueros against North Valleys, making 11-of-19 shots from the floor and 6-of-11 free throws for 28 points. Jaelece Wasson hit three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points and Justice Martell-Artiaga added 11 points. 

“Taylor was so dominant down low, Jaelece hit some crucial 3’s and a few others made some nice shots,” coach Ralph Dunn said. 

Thanks in part to a disastrous end to the first half, the Vaqueros were trailing 40-36 before outscoring the Panthers 18-2 to start that game-sealing 22-4 run. Tollestrup scored the first two baskets of the run and had 10 of the 22 points in that stretch. A 3-pointer by Wasson, her second of the night, put Fernley ahead 43-40 and her last one made if 54-42. The Vaqueros’ lead eventually reached 58-44 with 2:35 left in the game. 

The Vaqueros led almost the entire first half until North Valleys scored seven points in less than a minute, converting two steals into fast break layups. Then another near steal turned into a held ball, with the Panthers having the possession arrow, and set up two free throws by Ivy Williams of North Valleys that put her team ahead 32-27. 

“Some crucial turnovers just before halftime, again areas we have stressed all year, but second half out scoring North Valleys got us into the championship game, and what a great feeling for the girls,” Dunn said. “Our defense kicked in and triggered our offense, but we also used a lot of energy in that game.” 

Saturday’s championship game picked up nearly where the regular-season finale left off. In that game, Fallon outscored Fernley 19-3 in the third quarter. This time, it was a 15-7 first quarter and an 18-7 second quarter that had Fernley down 33-14 at the half. 

“They beat us in every phase of the game, and those crucial turnovers we have suffered throughout the year didn’t get better,” Dunn said. 

Tollestrup was also hampered by a sore back for most of the game after she was fouled and took a hard fall and landed on the front row of the bleachers behind the basket. She finished with eight points to lead the team, while Laura Rosales scored six and Irene Brown added five. 

“Taylor wasn’t as dominant with her injury, let’s hope it gets better,” Dunn said. “We need her presence in the paint.” 

Just like in that last game of the regular season, the Vaqueros again turned the ball over repeatedly against Fallon’s fullcourt press, and Fallon’s halfcourt pressure kept Fernley’s ballhandlers from making clean passes into the paint 

“Fallon’s ball pressure and press really gave us fits and we need to make some adjustments should we face them again,” Dunn said. 

The Vaqueros will play Virgini Valley in Thursday’s state semifinal, a team that Dunn said also presses fullcourt, then falls back into a zone defense. 

“We will need to bring our “A” game if we want to get into the ‘ship,’” Dunn said.