The beginning of league play brought out the best in the Fernley High School girls basketball team. The Vaqueros scored the game’s first 12 points, led by 24 at halftime and rolled to a 59-27 win over Lowry last Friday night in the first Northern 3A East game of the season.
Taylor Tollestrup led the Vaqueros with 27 points, five of her teammates had between five and seven points, and the Vaqueros dominated the game from start to finish.
“We came out ready to play and not our usual slow start,” coach Ralph Dunn said. “That came in the third quarter.”
By then, the Vaqueros were up 36-12. They got outscored 8-7 in the third quarter, but finished strong with 16 points in the fourth quarter. Audrey Mason led Lowry in scoring with 16 points, including four 3-pointers, but 14 of her points came after Fernley was already ahead 31-6.
Tatiana Velazquez scored seven points for Fernley, while Laura Rosales, Justice Martell-Artiaga and Irene Brown each had six and Zaelynn Wasson scored five.
The Vaqueros had tuned up for league play earlier in the week, beating Carson 71-49 on Monday and Yerington 56-31 Tuesday in their last two games of the Hug Cup Challenge, which began Dec. 27.
“The two final games at Hug we had a lot of confidence each game and I wish the games were a little closer so we could work on game situations,” Dunn said.
The Vaqueros had their highest scoring game of the season against Carson, with five players in double figures. Tollestrup led the team with 20 points, Sophie Mossner added 13, and Martell-Artiaga, Velazquez and Wasson scored 10 apiece.
Tollestrup also had 22 against Yerington, backed up by Wasson with 10, Rosales with eight, and Martell-Artiaga with six.
Dunn said defense was the key to the Vaqueros’ four wins at Hug and the win over Lowry to start league play.
“Really happy the way the defense has stepped up,” he said. “We still have areas we need to improve on. The mistakes we’re making are all correctable.”
The Vaqueros were scheduled to host Fallon Tuesday night, then this weekend they hit the road to face Elko at 6 p.m. Friday and Spring Creek at 1 p.m. Saturday.
“All the games coming up are very important,” Dunn said. “We need to stay focused and healthy.”
Comment
Comments