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Truckee basketball: Montano hits game-winner vs. Vikings

Sylas Wright
swright@sierrasun.com
Junior forward Marlena Montano was named Truckee's Player of the Game in the Wolverines' 31-30 win over South Tahoe on Tuesday. Montano scored Truckee's final six points, including the go-ahead shot with 4 seconds remaining.
Sylas Wright / Sierra Sun |

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Truckee is scheduled to play league games at Lowry on Friday and at Fernley next Tuesday, Jan. 12.

Coming off a 1-3 showing in the Elite Varsity Tournament over the holidays, Truckee girls basketball coach Dave Shalvis harped on his team about picking up its defensive intensity before returning to league play.

The Wolverines responded by holding two Northern Division I-A opponents to a combined 42 points in consecutive wins.

Truckee defeated visiting Sparks 45-12 on Saturday and scored a go-ahead bucket in the final seconds to pull off a 31-30 win over visiting South Tahoe on Tuesday.



Marlena Montano was the hero in Tuesday’s comeback victory. The junior forward scored Truckee’s final six points, Shalvis said, including the winning shot with 4 seconds left in regulation.

“I’ve been trying to get her to shoot more all season,” Shalvis said, adding that Montano is known as more of a defensive specialist.



With Truckee trailing by a point, Shalvis called a timeout with 10 seconds remaining to draw up a final play. Although the play went awry, Izzy Abarno found Montano with a post feed, and the 5-foot-6 forward put it up and in.

The Vikings called a timeout in hopes of converting a final play of their own, but Truckee’s defense held them off the board to preserve the win.

“That was a huge win,” said Shalvis, whose Wolverines improved to 2-1 in league as the Vikings fell to 2-2. “Everybody there was impressed.”

Junior forward Maddie Monson scored a team-high seven points, while Montano added six, Sydney Mock and Shelby Brooks each had four, and Abarno and Audrey Colburn each had three.

Truckee dominated from the opening top till the final buzzer against Sparks, which remains winless in league at 0-3. The Wolverines held the Railroaders to single digits in each quarter. They led 26-3 at the half and 37-5 by the end of the third quarter.

Mock — whose 14-point scoring average ranks third in the Northern Division I-A — led the way with 16 points. Abarno and Colburn scored six points apiece, and Monson and Karina Nunez each scored four.


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