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Varsity girls lose to Fernley

Matt Brown, Sierra Sun

Teams familiar with winning know how to come back down emotionally from dramatic games.

On Saturday, the Truckee High School girls’ varsity basketball team, which won only two games last season, was lackluster in a 47-33 loss to Fernley.

“We came out flat after an emotional win over North Tahoe on Tuesday night,” said assistant coach Geoff Stephens. “We’re trying to teach the girls that they need to bring it to the court every time (they play).”



By “bringing it,” Stephens is referring to Truckee’s passionate effort in its first league victory on Jan. 13 versus league rivals North Tahoe, a 44-42 overtime thriller at home. But there was no raucous crowd or heightened intensity in the air on Saturday to help lift the Wolverines, who were outscored 29-16 in the second half.

“They were really flat,” Stephens continued, “and we want them to understand that they got to come to work every single day. They can beat (Fernley), but they just didn’t bring it today.”



The challenge for Stephens and first-year head coach Angelo Tenorio will be to instill confidence in a group that is accustomed to losing. Seven seniors have returned from a disappointing 2002-2003 campaign.

Fortunately, Stephens and Tenorio have something to build on; Truckee has already doubled its win production compared to a season ago. Tenorio and Stephens have led their team to a 4-6 overall record in the young season.

“They have a history where they haven’t been successful, over years, over their whole careers,” Stephens said. “They have to start believing in themselves, then they’ll be very hard to beat. Some days they have it, and some days they don’t.”

And Saturday, against Northern 3A division counterparts Fernley Vaqueros, they didn’t. In a lackadaisical performance, Truckee, down by one to start the second half, let Fernley pull away to a 34-20 lead late in the third quarter. The final score represented the same 14-point differential, as the Wolverines’ league record dropped to 1-2.

Fernley capitalized on 20 Truckee fouls that sent them to the free-throw line 30 times. The Vaqueros hit 18 of 30, led by Lysana Davis’ 14 points and Walita Querta’s 13.

Fernley committed 15 fouls, but only sent Truckee to the line 15 times. That proved to be the difference in the game.

The individual point totals for Truckee are proof enough that they will have to play with more confidence to get in the win column – Crysta Weed was the leading scorer with eight points. Melissa Gadsby scored six points in the loss.

Truckee travels to Sparks tonight at 6 p.m., then to Spring Creek on Friday (6 p.m.) and Lowry on Saturday (3 p.m.).

JV improves to 3-1 in league

The junior varsity girls coasted to a 55-32 victory on Saturday against Fernley, improving its league record to 3-1. Corina Mincey and Kelly Stephens led Truckee scorers with 11 points, and Amanda Beckman and Amanda Thorsby had six. Beckman led the Wolverines with 11 rebounds.

In a strong defensive effort, Truckee forced 21 turnovers, primarily using a full court press. Offensively, the Wolverines were able to pick apart a zone defense in the first half, and in the second half they beat Fernley’s man-to-man strategy with a cluster of backdoor hoops.

Truckee also beat Sparks this season, which would make its league record 4-1, but Sparks is playing as an independent in the Northern 3A.


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