Girls basketball: Vaqueros take 3 of 4 in Spanish Springs Tournament

Robert Perea, The Fernley Reporter

After rolling through their season-opening weekend with four easy wins, the Fernley High School girls basketball team answered stiffer challenges last weekend with three wins in four tries.

Only one of their four wins in the Basic Tip Off Tournament the previous week had been by less than 20 points, but the Vaqueros found themselves in tight games in all four outings last week in the Spanish Springs Winter Tip-Off.

The Vaqueros lost 46-34 Thursday to Piedmont (Calif.), then came back to win the next three games, 44-36 over Douglas, 66-61 over Pyramid Lake and 54-43 over Galena.

Coach Ralph Dunn said the Vaqueros still had some early season jitters and are still making little mistakes as they work several newcomers into the rotation.

“If we don’t take care of them, it can haunt us,” Dunn said.

Dunn said the team’s aggressiveness in the last three games was a big plus, after he felt they were sluggish in the game against Piedmont. Dunn said he specifically requested to play Piedmont when he paid the entry fee for the tournament, because Piedmont has been undefeated in the tournament the past few years.

“They only had six players, but they could play,” Dunn said. “It was a good matchup for us just to try to pick something up.”

Jaelece Wasson led the Vaqueros with 11 points, and Taylor Tollestrup added eight.

Tollestrup came back with 17 points Friday night against Douglas in a game the Vaqueros took control of in the second quarter with a 12-2 run.

“We keyed off our energy,” Dunn said. “It picked up from our defense and helped our offense.”

Saturday morning the Vaqueros beat Pyramid Lake 66-61 in a playoff-caliber matchup.

The Lakers jumped out to an early lead, but the Vaqueros again had a big second quarter, outscoring Pyramid Lake 23-12 to take a 6-point halftime lead. The teams went back and forth throughout the second half.

“Pyramid Lake is good,” Dunn said. “They’ve got some pretty good guards in there.”

Tollestrup led the Vaqueros with 25 points and 12 rebounds, while Justice Artiaga also helped the Vaqueros dominate the boards, with eight of her 10 rebounds on the offensive end. She added eight points, and Wasson scored 18.

The Vaqueros continued their theme of dominating the second quarter in the final game of the tournament, outscoring Galena 17-7.

Wasson was the offensive leader with 20 points, including three 3-pointers, while Laura Rosales and Tollestrup each had 10 points.

This week, the Vaqueros were scheduled to play at Damonte Ranch on Tuesday, then they visit Bishop Manogue on Friday. Next Monday they will host Sierra High from Tollhouse, Calif. in their first home game of the season, and only home game in the month of December.