With six players returning, including four starters back from last season, the Fernley High School girls basketball team enters the season with the expectation of being one of the top teams in the Northern 3A.
All six of those returners saw regular playing time last season, led by Taylor Tollestrup, who was second in the Northern 3A East in both scoring and rebounding and first in blocked shots. Tollestrup averaged 17.6 points, 9.9 rebounds and 4.9 blocks last season, and her height and athletic ability caused matchup problems for every team the Vaqueros faced.
Tollestrup received first team All-League and All-State honors. She’s joined by Justice Martell-Artiaga, who was first team All-League, and Laura Rosales, who received All-League honorable mention last year. Also returning are Irene Brown, Sophie Mossner and Tatiana Velazquez.
“We should be very competitive in our league,” coach Ralph Dunn said.
Dunn pegged Fallon, which won the regional title last season and returns most of its key players, as the league favorite.
Dunn said he is interested to see how the new 35-second shot clock, which will reset to 20 seconds after an offensive rebound, will impact the game.
“We always got up shots fairly fast, so not sure if that plays a factor in our game, maybe just in the closing seconds,” he said. “We will have to adjust defensively as coaches, and we will have to pay more attention to the clock or be more aware of it.
“Conditioning will be a big factor at the beginning of the season, something we will work on,” Dunn added.
The Vaqueros open the season Dec. 1 with a home game against Reed, starting a busy first week. They will play the new Debbie Smith CTE Academy on Dec. 2 and play in a tournament in Spanish Springs Dec. 4–6. They also have nonleague games against Damonte Ranch and Galena and will play in a tournament at Hug before starting league play Jan. 2.
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